Celtic Warriors outgun Edinburgh

Edinburgh Gunners 19 Celtic Warriors 30

Edinburgh Gunners faded in the second half as they failed in their bid to complete the Celtic League double over Celtic Warriors at Meadowbank.

Rookie Ally Warnock had given the capital men a platform with a series of accurate kicks – only for the Welshmen to seize the initiative with a two-try volley just after the break in this Celtic League clash.

Edinburgh made a bright start and broke the deadlock with just two minutes on the clock.

During the error-strewn opening exchanges, Derrick Lee’s clearance kick was charged down – leading to chaos in the Welsh ranks.

They failed to secure the ball and were caught offside, giving outside half Warnock the long-range chance.

He struck it superbly from a metre inside enemy territory and it cleared the crossbar via the inside of a post.

Warriors responded in positive fashion but found the home defence in stubborn mood.

And just as they looked likely to breach the barrier, veteran scrum-half Graeme Burns relieved the pressure with a last-gasp kick to safety.

Edinburgh raised the tempo in the build-up to the interval and deservedly opened up a nine-point gap.

First, Warriors were deemed to have deliberately collapsed a maul, allowing Warnock to strike from close range.

Then he completed his treble two minutes before the break from further out following an offside verdict.

Warriors came out with all guns blazing at the restart and had the home men reeling with two tries in quick succession.

Mama Molitika sparked the revival by galloping in under the bar at the end of a 20-metre charge.

Then international scrum-half Gareth Cooper left the defence for dead with a brilliant display of pace and vision down the narrow side.

Ceri Sweeney confidently banged over both conversions to put a whole new complexion on the game – though Warnock repaired some of the damage with his fourth penalty.

Sweeney was replaced by Neil Jenkins, who announced his presence with a penalty to give the Warriors more breathing space.

He banged over two more before Robert Sidoli and Allan Jacobsen traded touchdowns in a late flurry of points.