Kick in the teeth
Edinburgh suffer sickening end to Pro14 season as last boot of the game sinks Final hopes
Gutted Gunners saw their hopes of Pro14 final glory heartbreakingly sunk by the last kick of the game.
Tries by Stuart McInally, Darcy Graham and Chris Dean looked to have Richard Cockerill’s side on their way to a first ever showpiece shootout with champs Leinster.
But in a dramatic finish the battling Irish drew level at 19-19 when Ian Madigan converted a John Andrew try.
Super sub Madigan then showed nerves of steel when Edinburgh were penalised for a deliberate knock on, to slot the winning penalty with the last action of the game.
It was a thri l l ing, a lbeit gutwrenching finale, and just a pity there were no fans inside Murrayfield to witness it unfold.
Scotland lock Grant Gilchrist racked up his 150th appearance for the Gunners as one of the eight changes from the side that had lost to Glasgow last time out.
Last night, though, nothing was left in reserve as the hosts seized the initiative by battering into the Belfast side from the off and it took them until the 14th minute to put their first points on the board.
It was left to skipper McInally to muscle his way over for a try which had been hard earned by a period of Edinburgh pressure but Jaco van der Walt was wide with the extras.
Ulster’s response was to launch a barrage of attacks of their own but the capital side repelled the surge on their line and managed to clear the danger with McInally and Hamish Watson at the heart of it all.
Unforced errors from Ulster were a l so play ing a par t in thei r frustration as they came undone with moments of sloppiness to allow the Edinburgh defence off the hook.
An opportunity to extend their lead was squandered seconds from the interval as Van der Walt brilliantly drew two tacklers. He fed Dean, but he failed to deliver the crucial offload to Mark Bennet, who was waiting to capitalise as the free man who would have been clear for a try.
That precious five-point half-time advantage was welcome but as the action got underway again after the break, it continued to prove to be only paper thin.
A cushion to Edinburgh’s lead was provided by another try in the 47th minute.
It came via a superb free-flowing move down the right which allowed Graham to dive over in the corner.
Van der Walt had been the architect of the score and this time he made no mistake with the conversion to give his side a 12- 0 lead.
The lead, however, was cut to five points once again as Ulster finally showed a clinical edge with a try of their own.
Roy Lyttle raced clear and Billy Burns banged over the conversion to offer them hope.
It appeared to have been short lived Watson’s searing break provided the impetus for Dean to bustle over the try-line.
Van der Walt did more damage to the visitors by striking the conversion between the posts.
The instant response to having their own line punctured brought a sense of relief but Ulster weren’t finished.
Rob Herring touched down in the corner but Burns’ missed conversion attempt kept Edinburgh seven points ahead as the plot to this nip and tuck clash continued to throw up twists and turns.
Relentless Ulster pressure paid off late on as Andrew’s try from a maul and Madigan’s conversion tied the scoreboard five minutes from time.
But there was a final , agonising twist in the tale when Madigan rattled over a last gasp penalty to leave Edinburgh on their knees in despair.