Ulster started purposefully and were awarded an early penalty, but outside-half Niall O'Connor could not take advantage - much to Edinburgh's relief. In a tightly-contested opening 10 minutes, Edinburgh gradually then started to seize control of the game.And the home side almost found the breakthrough when Phil Godman's pass found Andrew Turnbull, but the winger was shackled before he could surge over the whitewash. But Edinburgh cranked up the pressure even further and kept Ulster pegged back in the visitors' own 22.

And the dominance translated into a well-deserved try when Andrew Turnbull embarked on a run up the pitch. After side-stepping two Ulster tackles, he off-loaded for centre John Houston to be left with the relatively straightforward task of touching down underneath the posts.Then Godman struck over the conversion to hand Edinburgh a healthy advantage inside the opening quarter.

Despite going ahead, Edinburgh refused to ease off the gas and Nick De Luca and Turnbull combined superbly on the right hand side before the in-form winger was held up just short of the line. Nevertheless Edinburgh were awarded a penalty try by Welsh referee James Jones for Ulster's wingers preventing the ball to be released and Godman kicked the extras.

Edinburgh's second try triggered a determined fightback from Ulster, who fielded Scotland winger Simon Danielli in their back-line, but the home side's defence stood firm. Ulster almost managed to reduce the deficit on the stroke of half-time, but Edinburgh forced an error and then cleared their lines to preserve a 14-point half-time lead.

But straight after the break, Ulster edged onto the scoreboard with a penalty from O'Connor straight in front of the posts.Ulster threatened to make amends for their first half showing by imposing themselves on the game.

But Edinburgh stuck to their task of stopping Ulster from getting over the gain line. And, after making two tries, Turnbull got in on the act himself and hurtled through to touch down. Then replacement Ali Warnock - on for regular placekicker Godman - took responsibility for the ensuing conversion and made it count. But Ulster refused to lie down and hit back with a quickfire try scored by replacement Mark Bartholomeusz followed up with a conversion from O'Connor.

Edinburgh possibly should have extended their advantage even further but were guilty of squandering a chance with the try-line in sight. Then with eight minutes of the contest remaining, Ulster were reduced to 14 men when lock Ryan Caldwell was shown the red card. And Ulster's woes were heightened further when Warnock showed unerring precision with his boot to send over a well-taken penalty.

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Edinburgh 24 (14)
Tries: Houston, Turnbull 2
Cons: Godman 2, Warnock
Pen: Warnock

Ulster 10 (0)
Try: Bartholomeusz
Con: O'Connor
Pen: O'Connor

Edinburgh: De Luca, A. Turnbull, Cairns, Houston, Maxwell, Godman, Meyer, Allori, Kelly, G. Cross, Hamilton, Gissing, Mustchin, Rennie, S. Cross.
Replacements: Dey for Houston (72), Warnock for Godman (52), Lawrie for Kelly (60), Grant for G. Cross (55), Reid for Mustchin (14), Pringle for S. Cross (77). Not Used: Laidlaw.

Ulster: Cunningham, McCrea, Bowe, Mallon, Danielli, O'Connor, Campbell, J. Fitzpatrick, Brady, Court, Harrison, Caldwell, McCullough, Pollock, Wilson.
Replacements: Bartholomeusz for Cunningham (31), Larkin for O'Connor (75), Marshall for J. Fitzpatrick (54), Miles for Brady (70), D. Fitzpatrick for Court (60), Dawson for McCullough (52). Not Used: Barker.

Att: 3,468

Ref: James Jones (WRFU).

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