Glasgow retained the 1872 Cup and stayed on course for the RaboDirect Pro 12 playoffs with a dogged win over Edinburgh in an error-strewn second leg at Firhill.
Both teams seemed to be suffering from Hogmanay hangovers in front of a full house and it was fitting that a scrambled try from a rolling maul scored by prop Moray Low for the home side was the only time either side crossed the line.
Despite reversing five of their controversial 13 changes from the first leg before kick-off, Edinburgh were uncommonly toothless in attack and the capital club are now left to concentrate on Europe, but Glasgow are still seeking the complete performance to go with their recent run of one defeat in the last 12 games.
A yellow card for Edinburgh’s Matt Scott late in the game with the score tied helped swing the contest Glasgow’s way, but Warriors head coach Sean Lineen said it was not a factor.
”I think the replacements we made gave us a lift at a key time, and we finally held on to the ball and put pressure on them,” he said. ”These matches are always tough and close, and I’m just delighted for the boys that they were able to get the win.
”We made too many unforced errors, kicks out on the full and not holding on to the ball, and I’m sorry that we didn’t put on a better show for our record crowd, but sometimes you just have to battle out the win.”
Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley said he was proud of his team’s application and effort but thought the yellow card was crucial.
”It was at a key time, the score was level and there didn’t appear a lot in it,” he said. ”We were struggling a bit after that but I can’t fault the performance of the players tonight.”
An uncharacteristically edgy first half from Glasgow’s half-backs and a tendency to force the game meant the Warriors weren’t full value for their 9-3 lead at the break.
Edinburgh enjoyed plenty of possession with the recalled Denton and McInally prominent but they made no real inroads into the home defence, and Phil Godman missed two penalty tries from distance while making one from close range on 24 minutes.
Duncan Weir also missed a simple one by his standards, fumbled a routine pass and kicked dead in-goal with another penalty, but he made three more penalties as Glasgow took better advantage of attacking possession.
However, a couple of forced passes meant the best chance came when Chris Cusiter’s sharp break sprung Colin Shaw only for the wing to run away from his support and throw a forward pass.
The home side’s malaise continued into the second half with a series of further errors that allowed Edinburgh a foothold in their half.
Although the capital side didn’t look like breaking down the home defence they forced three kickable penalties for Godman, and he bagged two of them to level the scores with 20 minutes to play.
However, Glasgow made the decisive move when they took off Weir for Scott Wight and spurned two kicks at goal to go for driving lineouts, as Edinburgh’s centre Scott was sin-binned for offside at a ruck.
Warriors drove the second lineout close and appeared to stall but a secondary shove forced Low over the line, confirmed after a short study of the action by the TV official.
Wight stretched the lead with a penalty and while Edinburgh’s late riposte saw Lee Jones dive into the corner after a Godman cross-kick, Shaw just managed to force him into touch and Godman’s late drop goal off the upright with the last kick could only salvage a losing bonus point.
Attendance 8852
Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Wire