index 788a837..07e131d 100644
--- a/s3tests/functional/test_headers.py
+++ b/s3tests/functional/test_headers.py
@@ -544,7 +544,13 @@ def test_bucket_create_bad_expect_unreadable():
 @attr('fails_on_rgw')
 def test_bucket_create_bad_contentlength_empty():
     _add_custom_headers({'Content-Length': ''})
-    e = assert_raises(boto.exception.S3ResponseError, get_new_bucket)
+    try:
+        e = assert_raises(boto.exception.S3ResponseError, get_new_bucket)
+    except AssertionError as ae:
+        # this test may leave the connection in bad state
+        s3.main.close()
+        raise ae
+
     eq(e.status, 400)
     eq(e.reason, 'Bad Request')
     eq(e.error_code, None)