Edinburgh’s Euro dream in tatters (',1%8r*+ &$r',)) %/8(S
Edinburgh’s
Euro dream was smashed by the Cardiff boot boys in a Murrayfield horror show.
Richard Cockerill’s troops couldn’t cope with the clever kicking tactics of the streetwise Blues.
And the Welsh side fully deserved to clinch a Challenge Cup semi-final showdown against Pau.
At no stage of the contest did the Gunners reproduce the form that has put them on course for a Pro14 title play-off tilt.
And a spate of basic errors handed the glory to Cardiff on a plate.
The visitors had the better of the messy opening exchanges – but Edinburgh had a reprieve when Jarrod Evans fluffed an easy penalty attempt. Having weathered the early storm, Gunners began to find rhythm.
However, a series of raids came to nothing in the face of the well-drilled Blues defence.
The hosts’ persistence forced a pressure penalty in the 18th minute.
And Jaco van der Walt edged them in front with a fine strike from 35 metres.
Cardiff ’s response was quick and lethal. Nathan Fowles misjudged an Evans lob, allowing the ball to bounce off his head in the danger zone.
And winger Ellis Jenkins was left with the simple task of gathering the loose ball and scoring.
Evans followed up to slot the wide-angled conversion. Even worse was to come for the Gunners on the halfhour mark as another defensive blunder handed the Welsh side a second gift try.
This time, Blair Kinghorn failed to mop up a regulation chip and Blaine Scully plunged over, with Evans again finding the target.
Van der Walt clipped over another penalty after the restart to offer Edinburgh fresh hope – only for Evans to hit back in identical fashion within two minutes. And, when Evans added to his tally yet again, there appeared to be no route back for the home team.
The drama level rose as Jenkins was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock on close to his line.
But Edinburgh were unable to cash in when it mattered most.
Skipper Fraser Mckenzie admitted his 100th appearance for Edinburgh was one to forget.
The giant said: “We are incredibly disappointed and we only have ourselves to blame.
“Credit to Cardiff because they made the breakdown a mess – and we failed to deal with it. They were very good at denying us by slowing the ball down.”
Mckenzie insisted, however: “We will keep our heads high and move on.
“Our focus will be on the Pro14 and we are determined to keep up our strong run and do everything we can to finish second in our section.”