Glasgow rally late for Scottish derby win

MATCH REPORT: Late tries from Johnny Matthews and Ally Miller saw injury-hit Glasgow Warriors beat Edinburgh 22-10 to seize the initiative in the 1872 Cup and move top of the United Rugby Championship table.

The visitors led 10-8 going into the closing quarter after Warriors wing Kyle Rowe and Edinburgh prop WP Nel exchanged first-half tries at Scotstoun.

But Grant Gilchrist’s 65th-minute yellow card proved pivotal, paving the way for the hosts to draw clear and open up a 12-point first-leg lead through Matthews and Miller’s late scores.

Glasgow went into the derby depleted by the absence of several key men through injury, including Scotland internationals Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey, Jamie Dobie, Kyle Steyn and Ollie Smith, who is facing the prospect of a year on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt, by contrast, was able to name a strong line-up, which included Scotland scrum-half Ali Price as he returned to Scotstoun for the first time since making a surprise loan move along the M8 to Edinburgh last month.

Glasgow got the scoreboard ticking over in the seventh minute through a Ross Thompson penalty.

The hosts stretched their advantage with a superbly-worked try 10 minutes later as Rowe eased over on the left following a magnificent offload from Josh McKay. Thompson was wide with his conversion attempt.

Glasgow’s injury problems worsened just before the half-hour as Scotland hooker George Turner was forced off and replaced by Matthews, the URC’s top try-scorer.

Edinburgh got themselves back in the game in the 34th minute when veteran Nel pushed his way over from close range, with Ben Healy adding the extras.

Healy was off target with a penalty from the halfway line two minutes before the break but the stand-off made no mistake with his next attempt from a much shorter distance in the 47th minute, edging the visitors two points ahead.

But the game swung back in Glasgow’s favour in the 65th minute when Edinburgh lock Gilchrist was sin-binned following a series of fouls from his team.

Warriors took full advantage within two minutes as hooker Matthews notched his ninth try of the season with a trademark finish from the back of a maul. George Horne converted.

Miller all-but secured victory for the hosts in the 74th minute with a brilliant run in from the left after being fed by McKay and Horne again converted, ensuring Warriors take a 12-point lead to Murrayfield for the second leg of the 1872 Cup next Saturday.

Player of the Match

Following news that Glasgow and Scotland’s Ollie Smith is facing the prospect of a year out through injury, head coach Franco Smith would have been heartened by the sight of his other fullback Josh McKay making such a big impact. The 26-year-old New Zealander produced a lovely basketball pass to set up Rowe for the opening try and he also got himself an assist for the killer third when he played Miller in on the left.

Play of the match

Glasgow’s first try was well worked but their third was equally eye-catching and more significant given the match was delicately poised at that stage. McKay flicked the ball out to the left and Miller darted through a cluster of bodies on the left and in behind the posts for an impressive score that put his team beyond Edinburgh’s reach.

The scores

For Glasgow Warriors
Tries: Rowe, Matthews, Miller
Cons: Horne 2
Pen: Thompson

For Edinburgh
Try: Nel
Con: Healy
Pen: Healy

Yellow card: Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh, 64)

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Huw Jones, 13 Sione Tuipulotu (Captain), 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 George Horne, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Ally Miller, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Tom Jordan

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Glen Young, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Emiliano Boffelli

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: David Sutherland (Scotland)

Source: @URCOfficial