EDINBURGH coach Andy Robinson was incensed that his charges were denied a second consecutive victory at Ravenhill over Ulster due to a controversial try.
Instead Ulster won 13-9, their first win of the season having lost their previous four games, although Edinburgh's bonus point keeps them above the Irish province in the league table but neither side will be happy with the performance especially on t
he eve of the Heineken Cup.
The key moment of a scrappy game came midway through the first half when Irish U20 Grand Slam-winning captain David Pollock scored the only try of the game for Ulster but Robinson believes the officials shouldn't have awarded the touchdown.
"The try was a key decision, we have it on our cameras that the ball was in touch, the touch judge hasn't put his flag up and they have run up and scored the try and that sort of thing is unacceptable and disappointing," he explained. "The video evidence shows the ball went into touch and how we can see that and the officials can't is very disappointing."
Edinburgh were masters of their own downfall as they conceded ten points due to defensive mistakes but the coach believes they still should have been able to win the game a against an Ulster side that was lacking confidence.
"The mistakes in defence were crucial and without doubt that is something that we have to look at, I don't think we played that well but we controlled it," Robinson said. "It was a game we had to go out and win but unfortunately some of our decision-making wasn't good enough and the whole collective effort wasn't good enough to win the game.
"We very disappointed not to win the game, we started well for 20 minutes and then the game went away from us. We can't make scapegoats out of players. Games are won and lost by small margins and that is what we have done in our last two times here at Ravenhill," claimed Robinson.
Edinburgh created enough opportunities to win the game and should have scored when Hugo Southwell was stopped short of the Ulster line at the start of the season half and Robinson acknowledges that those spurned opportunities are costing his side.
"I think that was an important part of the game, if we had of scored a try then it would have given the team confidence.
"We can't buy a try at the moment in the last two games we have been in good positions to score and that is something that we have to rectify."
Edinburgh wasted a great chance when they had Ulster under pressure and were awarded a free kick close to the line but they opted for a scrum and failed to control the ball at the base allowed Ulster to fly hack clear but Robinson was happy with the choice to take a set piece.
"First half we were under pressure at the scrum but in the second half we dealt with it due to the personnel changes. It was the right decision because in the second half we were dominating the scrum and I was happy with it but our first-half performance was average."
Edinburgh were seeking a third consecutive win over Ulster having beaten them home and away last season and although they picked up a losing bonus point Robinson saw it as scant consolation. "We came here to win the game and we're frustrated that we have not achieved that, it's a team thing and we have got to sort it out and we'll work hard at trying to achieve it," he said.
"Ulster grew in confidence and they needed to win that game, they fought like anything to win it and credit to them for doing that."
Edinburgh start their European campaign against Leinster next weekend having already been on the wrong end of a 52-6 scoreline in the league and Robinson admits his side must improve. "We have to raise our performance by a number of notches to even compete with Leinster and that is what we have got to focus on.
"We need to build ourselves up for the game against Leinster. We need to put together a complete 80-minute display rather than perform in patches and we will be working hard."
Clinton Schifcofske converted Pollock's try to give Ulster a 7-0 half time lead and the Australian was on target after the restart.
David Blair landed two penalties before Schifcofske added his second and Phil Godman set up a tight finish with Edinburgh's third penalty.
Scorers: Ulster: Tries: D Pollock Cons: C Schifcofske Pens: C Schifcofske 2. Edinburgh: Pens: D Blair 2, P Godman.
Ulster: B Cunningham; C Schifcofske, D Cave, P Steinmetz, A Trimble; N O'Connor, C Willis; T Court, R Best, (capt), BJ Botha, E O'Donoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, D Pollock, R Diack. Replacements: N Brady, J Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava, K Dawson/M McCullough, I Boss, I Humphreys, T Nagusa
Edinburgh: J Thompson, J Houston, H Southwell, N De Luca, M Robertson, D Blair, M Blair (capt), A Jacobsen, A Kelly, G Kerr, J Hamilton, B Gissing, M Mustchin, A Hogg, S Newlands. Replacements: R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, C Fusaro, G Laidlaw, P Godman, C MacRae.
Ref: C Demasco
Attendance: 8418
The full article contains 901 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
