Edinburgh maintained their quest for a place in the URC play-offs with a 19-15 win over Ospreys at Hive Stadium.
A first-half Hamish Watson try, and 14 points from the boot of his Scotland colleague Ben Healy sealed victory for Sean Everitt’s side despite a second half fightback from the Welsh outfit.
Head coach Everitt was pleased his side held on for victory, but was frustrated by elements of the performance.
He said: "It wasn't a complete performance which we had hoped for. I thought we started the game well, going into half-time 16-3, which could have been 19, we were clearly on top. It was going to be tough in the second half with the wind [against us].
"We didn't get a good start against a team that doesn't go away. We knew they were going to push us all the way to the 80th minute - we talked about that at half-time.
"We're happy that we got the win to stay in touch with the guys at the top. It's going to be important in a log that looks like it does and with a tough trip coming up to South Africa as well."
Edinburgh were handed a first attacking chance when Victor Sekekete strayed offside attempting to put pressure on Ben Vellacott’s box kick.
Edinburgh had the game’s first attacking chance, a break from Harry Paterson giving them territory, but the visitors won a breakdown penalty to relieve the early pressure.
Ospreys then found their way into the game through their scrum – veteran tighthead WP Nel conceding two penalties inside 10 minutes – the latter of which allowed fly-half Dan Edwards to kick the Welsh outfit into an early lead.
Edinburgh struggled to deal with Ospreys’ kicking game in the first period, Paterson and makeshift wing Chris Dean both well short of fielding Luke Davies’ box-kicks early on.
It appeared the hosts were struggling to get a foothold in the game, before they burst into life and scored the first try through Hamish Watson, who got on the end of a move that started with Bill Mata carrying over the gain line and was continued by Matt Currie, before the Scotland flanker went over.
Ben Healy converted and added a pair of long-range penalties to give the hosts a 10-point cushion inside half an hour. A third Healy penalty – won after Edinburgh got the upper hand at a scrum – extended their advantage to 16-3 shortly before half-time.
Paterson atoned for his early errors under the high ball, showing terrific pace to intercept a Keelan Giles offload that denied the visitors a route back into the game after the winger had beaten Edinburgh’s midfield defence.
The hosts started the second period as they had ended the first, a Nel jackal penalty earning them field position but again they were unable to make the most of the opportunity as Ospreys wrapped up the maul and reclaimed possession.
Edinburgh then conceded territory when they were judged offside from an Emiliano Boffelli kick, and the visitors – who had been sloppy for most of the night in attack – struck back when Sam Parry drove over from a maul. Edwards failed with the conversion, but Edinburgh’s lead was cut to 16-8.
On a night where neither side could be described as clinical, Edinburgh let a couple of chances to extend their lead slip. A wayward lineout throw coughed up possession inside Ospreys’ 22, while Healy was wide with a penalty with 15 minutes to play.
Keelan Giles chip and chase won the Welsh side a five-metre scrum after he wrapped up Ali Price, and with their scrum earning another penalty the visitors picked and carried on Edinburgh’s line before replacement Morgan Morris scored their second try.
Another replacement, Owen Williams, kicked the conversion to cut Edinburgh’s lead to a single point.
As Ospreys looked to clear, a spill from Williams gave Edinburgh the ball inside the Ospreys 22, and from another scrum penalty in the home side’s favour, Healy gave them more breathing space with his fourth penalty of the night.
Edinburgh defended a late Ospreys lineout five metres from their line to hold on for a valuable victory. The capital club temporarily climb ahead of Benetton, who host Glasgow on Saturday, into fourth place in the URC table.
Edinburgh: Emiliano Boffelli, Harry Paterson, Mark Bennett, Matt Currie, Chris Dean (Goosen 55), Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott (captain) (Price 55), Boan Venter (de Bruin 69), Dave Cherry (Harrison 64), WP Nel (Sebastian 51), Sam Skinner (Sykes 64), Glen Young, Tom Dodd (Muncaster 64), Hamish Watson, Bill Mata
Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Alex Cuthbert (Protheroe 66), Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards (Williams 61), Luke Davies; Nicky Smith (Henry 68), Sam Parry (Lloyd 55), Tom Botha (Warren 57), James Ratti, Victor Sekekete (Davies 53), Harri Deaves, Justin Tipuric (captain), Jeandre Rudolph (Morris 53).
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