Connacht 14-9 Edinburgh
Connacht remain second on the Guinness Pro 12 table after a dogged display against Edinburgh at the Galway Sportsground.
In an error-ridden game marked by penalties, this Pro 12 fixture was no Halloween thriller, but the home side, led by the hard-working John Muldoon, posted their fifth win of the campaign to maintain their top four position and strong start to the season.
Outhalf Jacky Carty opened the scoring for the home side after eight minutes with a straightforward penalty from 30 metres when Edinburgh were pinged for going offside at the ruck, and within two minutes Connacht had struck again - with the only try of the match. From Muldowney's clean take, Fox Matamua fed scrumhalf Kieran Mamion, but it was Carty's deft inside pass to Healy that set up the try. The left winger burst through the cover before fullback Tiernan O'Halloran finished - Carty's conversion bouncing off the upright for an 8-3 lead.
Edinburgh, playing most of their rugby between the 22s, countered with a penalty in the 17th minute when Bundee Aki was penalised for a high tackle. And although the home side looked the more incisive in attack, led by fullback Tiernan O’Halloran, Connacht found it difficult to keep hold of the ball.
Edinburgh, while offering little in attack, looked to their scrum as their platform, and when Denis Buckley was penalised on a couple of occasions, Alan Solomon's young fullback Blair Kinghorn kicked a penalty from half way to close the gap to 8-6 at the break.
However Carty added a second penalty within minutes of the restart when Edinburgh captain Mike Coman was penalised at the ruck. However as Connacht struggled to get their hands on the ball for any sustained period, Edinburgh took control. Their reward was a 53rd minute penalty from scrumhalf Sam Hidalgo Clyne after Andrew Browne was similarly pinged at the breakdown. And in a game littered with penalties, Carty responded two minutes later with a three-pointer - the industrious Fox-Matamua forcing the penalty at the breakdown.
Such was the stop-start nature of this game, it was not until the 76th minute that Connacht had another opportunity to add to their tally. Although Carty’s two long-range efforts were just short, Connacht’s trojan work at the breakdown proved decisive.
