The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Edinburgh see lead slip away in final 20 minutes
Cardiff hit back with two late tries to hand hosts single-point PRO12 defeat
Edinburgh let a Guinness PRO12 victory slip through their hands as Cardiff boosted their chances of a top-six finish with a barely-deserved win in an errorstrewn game at gale-lashed Myreside
Flowing rugby was at a premium in testing conditions and the home side played most of what was on show.
They scored a first-half try through captain Neil Cochrane, converted by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, before Rory Scholes bagged a double after the break.
That saw Edinburgh leading 17-6 heading into the final 20 minutes and seemingly on course for victory, but Cardiff hit back.
Sion Bennett’s try was converted by Steve Shingler – adding to two penalties from the first half – to reduce the deficit before Lloyd Williams crossed for what would prove to be the match-winning score as Blair Kinghorn missed a late penalty for the hosts.
After a subdued opening seven minutes in which neither side visited the opposition 22, the first opportunity fell Cardiff’s way and Shingler banged over a 40-metre penalty to open the scoring.
Edinburgh, who were playing against the elements, responded with a spell of pressure that yielded a series of three penalties and a yellow card for Cardiff prop Anton Peikrishvili.
All three penalties were booted into touch and a powerful drive following the third lineout shunted the Cardiff defence backwards, allowing Cochrane to touch down the game’s opening try.
Cardiff immediately cut the deficit to 7-6 when Shingler landed his second penalty before Hidalgo-Clyne sent a 45-metre penalty wide.
The Cardiff penalty tally continued to mount and Jarrad Hoeata was sent to the sin bin after half-an-hour.
As they had done with the previous sin-binning, Cardiff shrugged off their numerical disadvantage and finished the half the stronger of the two sides.
However, a string of errors in sight of the target meant they failed to add to their points tally and Edinburgh reached the interval with a single point lead.
After dominating the opening eight minutes of the second period, Edinburgh grabbed a second try when Jason Tovey freed Chris Dean who offloaded to Scholes to race in in the corner.
The conversion was missed but Edinburgh extended their lead in the 55th minute, with Scholes again the scorer.
Cardiff struck back with just over an hour on the clock, with Hoeata making the initial break and Bennett eventually completing the job between the posts to leave Shingler a simple conversion.
Sensing that the game was there to be won, Cardiff belatedly came to life and they snatched the lead when Williams darted through on a chip ahead and read the bounce to touch down.
Shingler’s conversion attempt was charged down, leaving the visitors with a one-point advantage with six minutes left. That proved to be enough, though, as Kinghorn missed with a long-range penalty.
Edinburgh: Kinghorn, Hoyland, G Bryce, Dean, Scholes, Tovey (Allen 41), Hidalgo-Clyne, Cosgrove, Cochrane, McCallum, McKenzie, B Toolis, Bradbury (Gilchrist 45), Ritchie, Du Preez. Replacements not used: Turner, Appiah, K Bryce, Carmichael, Fowles, Rasolea.
Cardiff: Morgan, Cuthbert, Halaholo (G Smith 76), Shingler, James, Anscombe, L Williams, Gill (Domachowski 76), Dacey (Rees 50), Peikrishvili (Andrews 50), Earle, Hoeata, Cook, Bennett, N Williams. Replacements not used: Down, Myhill, T Williams, Summerhill.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland).