Edinburgh were crowned David Lloyd 1872 Cup winners at Firhill on Friday, but the milestone proved to be nothing more than a hollow victory after the team suffered a bitterly disappointed 25-20 loss at the hands of Glasgow.

Following the knockout performance served up on Boxing Day, Edinburgh looked set to build on the bonus point win with another calculated and proficient display against the Warriors.

Geoff Cross set the tempo when he burst through Glasgow’s fragile defence to dot down after 11 minutes, but after that Edinburgh lost their way horribly in a fraught contest played at breakneck speed.

Overpowered at the breakdowns and collisions, Edinburgh’s collective performance lacked the calmness that had been so prevalent during the previous fixture against the Warriors at Murrayfield and that was translated in the score-line.

Physical and highly-charged, Glasgow dragged Edinburgh into a dogfight and in the process the away team lost sight of their primary objective; to keep the ball alive, work through the phases and score tries.

After conceding a bucket-load of soft penalties with Dan Parks’ boot doing the vast bulk of the damage, Graeme Morrison bundled over deep into first half stoppage time to heighten Edinburgh’s genuine sense of woe.

In the second half, Edinburgh regained some level of composure and Godman’s excellent kicking record continued when he potted over two penalties to keep the Black and Red Army within touching distance of Glasgow.

But another costly lapse in concentration pulled the plug on any intended comeback when Ruaridh Jackson nailed a long-range penalty.

Nevertheless Edinburgh kept plugging away and Ben Cairns was on hand to score his second try in as many games against the club which had handed him his Magners League debut three years ago.

Despite winning the David Lloyd 1872 Cup, there was a genuine feeling of frustration and despondency in the Edinburgh camp following the full-time whistle.

The players know they can and should do much better than the display they served up in the Maryhill mud and every member of the squad will be determined to set the record straight against Ulster on Friday night (9 January, kick off 7.45pm).

A trophy has now been added to the cabinet, but overall it was a very bad day at the office for Andy Robinson’s troops.

Attendance: 6, 665

Edinburgh: Southwell, Robertson, Cairns, De Luca, Webster, Godman, M. Blair, Jacobsen, Ford, G. Cross, Mustchin, J. Hamilton, Newlands, MacDonald, Hogg.

Replacements: Kelly (for Ford), Kerr (for Jacobsen), Gissing (for Mustchin), S. Cross (for Hogg), Laidlaw (for M. Blair), D. Blair (for Godman), Houston (for Robertson).
 
Referee: R Debney (RFU)