Clermont Auvergne beat Munster 25-19 in their Heineken Cup Pool 1 clash at the Stade Marcel Michelin.
By handing the defending champions their first defeat in this season's competition the French Top 14 side kept their own chances of quarter-final qualification alive ahead of the return clash at Thomond Park next weekend.
Munster led 16-12 at the break thanks to a try from Marcus Horan and 11 points from the boot of fly-half Ronan O'Gara. But the hosts remained in touch thanks to four penalties from No.10 Brock James.
The hosts raised their game after the break and James slotted a further penalty before scoring and then converting his side's only try of the game.
James' sixth penalty took Clermont nine points clear but O'Gara's 73rd-minute penalty ensured Munster left France with a potentially crucial losing bonus point that keeps them in touch with pool leaders Sale Sharks with two of their next three pool games at home.
They looked set to take all four points when Horan scored a tremendous try on 25 minutes to open a 13-6 lead. O'Gara and James had traded two penalties each when Ireland international Horan received the ball out wide following Alan Quinlan's break and David Wallace's pass. He still had two defenders to beat yet managed to swat both aside with a ferocious hand-off to touch down in the corner.
O'Gara converted and added a third penalty to open up a 16-9 lead, but Munster were made to pay a heavy price for a series of penalties which allowed Clermont to remain in touch through the pinpoint accuracy of James. Penalties either side of half-time cut the lead to a point and the tide had turned in Clermont's favour.
France No.8 Elvis Vermeulen came off the bench as the home side stepped up a gear and, within a minute, James beat two tackles for a crucial score. Julian Bonnaire marshalled a powerful lineout drive and Mario Ledesma tore headlong into the Irish midfield before James stepped inside O'Gara and out of the grasp of Paul O'Connell to give Clermont the lead on 47 minutes.
Ledesma took a scrum against the head as Munster creaked under the pressure, but the visitors were grateful to only concede a sixth James penalty. Munster threw on giant prop Tony Buckley to help steady the ship, Lifeimi Mafi stood tall in midfield and Tomas O'Leary sniped around the fringes to get Munster back on track.
But it was a moment of French petulance that earned the bonus point. Pierre Mignoni conceded a penalty and referee Wayne Barnes marched Clermont back an extra 10 yards after comments made by the home players.
That brought O'Gara within range and the tournament's top points scorer obliged with the kick that keeps Munster well placed to progress to the quarter-finals.
Munster captain Paul O'Connell believes his team's bonus point could prove crucial.
"Clermont is a difficult place to come and sometimes the bonus point is the most important thing in a group as tight at this, especially after Sale got a bonus-point win this weekend to get them right back in it. But we're still disappointed to lose because things were going well for us in the first half.
"We had a poor first 20 minutes before Marcus scored his try but we showed great resilience to get in position to earn the bonus point and at the end we were pushing hard for the win.
"We scored a great try but we made the mistake of allowing them to build momentum. There were a few mauls that we didn't pull down and that allowed them to open space out wide. We gave away too many penalties in the wrong areas and they made us pay on the scoreboard. We will have to tighten up on that next week.
"We've got two games left at home but we're still only half-way through the pool and plenty can happen."
Man of the match Clermont fly-half Brock James wasted no time in looking ahead to next weekend's trip to Ireland. "We have had an inconsistent season so to put a good foot forward we knew we had to get a result against Munster. We're pleased to get it, but now we have to back it up when we go to Munster next week and Sale after that.
"Munster did a great job of slowing our ball when we had space out wide but I thought we controlled the game and the more field position we held, the more the points came. But we know the size of the challenge next week. Munster are the top side in Europe so we will have to be at our very best to get anything there."
ASM Clermont Auvergne: A Floch, A Rougerie [capt], B Baby, S Bai, J Malzieu, B James, P Mignoni, T Domingo (L Emmanuelli 72), M Ledesma, D Zirakashvili, J Pierre, L Jacquet, J Cudmore (E Vermeulen 46), A Lapandry (A Audebert 68), J Bonnaire
Munster: K Earls, D Howlett, B Murphy, L Mafi, I Dowling, R O'Gara, T O'Leary, M Horan (T Buckley 68), F Sheahan (D Fogarty 62), J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell [capt], A Quinlan (D Ryan 52), N Ronan (J Coughlan 73), D Wallace
Man of the Match: B James (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Attendance: 15,355
