Scarlets gunned down by Edinburgh

Edinburgh Gunners 35 Llanelli Scarlets 18

Edinburgh Gunners halted their Celtic League slide by beating the Scarlets - but it was another far from convincing display at Murrayfield.

The Gunners were forced to withstand heavy pressure from the Stradey Park brigade and had the trusty boot of skipper Chris Paterson to thank for their jittery success.

The Welshmen were handed a golden opportunity to snatch an instant advantage, but Gareth Bowen made a complete hash of the easy penalty – the ball screwing off the outside of his boot.

Edinburgh made the most of the reprieve by rattling up 12 points in as many minutes.

Ally Hogg had tested the Scarlets defence with a 40-metre run before winger Simon Webster reached the target in the wake of a tapped penalty by Mikey Blair.

Paterson was the next home star to pose a threat as he embarked on a long sprint, but he was hauled down just a couple of paces short of the line.

It was prop Craig Smith who turned pressure into points, driving over from close quarters.

Paterson added the extras, making amends for his earlier conversion attempt which had struck the woodwork

Edinburgh maintained the momentum, but they were unable to find the killer touch.

And Llanelli kick-started their challenge with a penalty by Bowen, followed by a superb touchdown from Mark Jones, who finished clinically after a slick handling sequence.

Jones’ effort inspired the Scarlets and they piled on the pressure in the opening stages of the second half.

Edinburgh managed to stem the tide, but they suffered another setback when substitute Ally Strokosch was sent to the sin-bin for playing the ball in an offside position.

Play became disjointed and scrappy again with both sides making mistakes galore.

And in the inevitable spate of penalties, Paterson landed three in quick order, while substitute Mike Hercus could only reply with one.

There was a flurry of tries in the dying minutes with Strokosch and Webster scoring for Edinburgh and Daffyd James for Llanelli.

They were converted by Paterson and Hercus respectively.