Edinburgh fell to only their second defeat in seven Magners League games against Ospreys at Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening, failing to produce the level of performance that has seen them climb the table in recent weeks.
Rob Moffat's side struggled to impose themselves on a Welsh outfit who saw more of the ball and did more with it. Edinburgh finished strongly, Tim Visser supplying his customary score minutes before the final whistle, but a more complete display will be required in Castres next Saturday if there is to be any repeat of the historic Heineken Cup win recorded against the French cracks in October 2008.
Ospreys were last night forced into a late change at full-back, Lee Byrne failing to recover from a thumb injury and Barry Davies taking his place.
Stand-off Dan Biggar put the hosts ahead with a fourth-minute penalty awarded after Edinburgh went off their feet, but Chris Paterson levelled things up almost immediately when Ospreys were themselves penalised for killing the ball at a ruck.
Edinburgh were not to have the better of the refereeing decisions in the opening quarter, the visitors conceding three further penalties in quick concession, first for going off their feet, then for failing to roll away and finally for holding on (Netani Talei). Biggar made no mistake with any of the awards.
The Wales international soon had yet another opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over, Edinburgh again undone at the ruck, and Moffat's side were suddenly looking at a 12-point deficit.
Things were to quickly go from bad to worse for the side from the Scottish capital as the Ospreys forwards contrived to conjure up the first score of the game. Prop Duncan Jones ignited the move, taking the ball from scrum-half Jamie Nutbrown and tipping it instantly and skillfully into the hands of blinside Justin Tipuric, who chipped Chris Paterson before charging on to collect, step inside and touch down.
Biggar's conversion left the score at 22-3, minutes before David Blair gave Edinburgh a rare moment of relief by banging over a penalty from just shy of halfway.
As well as conceding too many penalties, Moffat's men just couldn't establish any kind of platform, conceding significant ground in the battle for territory and possession. Things improved marginally as the half drew to a close, the Blair brothers putting together a couple of neat combinations at half-back while centres Alex Grove and David Bishop strove to get on the front foot.
David Blair knocked over another penalty shortly before the interval, but Edinburgh then lost Paterson to injury. The full-back's movements had not looked comfortable since he appeared to be caught by Ospreys flanker Marty Holah early on, and he went off to be replaced by Lee Jones.
HALF-TIME: OSPREYS 22 EDINBURGH 9
Edinburgh started the second period brightly, with the first signs of momentum visible. They also had the reprieve of Biggar producing a rare miss from the kicking tee after a strong run from Ospreys wing Richard Fussell prompted another penalty.
Eleven minutes into the half, the Swansea side lost Ryan Jones to the sin-bin, the back-rower yellow carded after leading with the shoulder in a challenge on Mike Blair.
Edinburgh immediately sought to exploit their numerical advantage, and established some fluency and fluidity for virtually the first time in the game when a clinical burst from Visser was taken on by Esteban Lozada, Bishop and Jim Thompson only for the move to flounder with a knock-on.
Additional frustration for the Scots was to follow instantly, another maddening penalty concession giving Biggar a simple shot from in front of the posts.
Ospreys proceeded to pile the pressure on the Edinburgh line with a series of forward drives, but the visitors held strong and weren't tempted into another infringement. Alas, Biggar showed admirable composure, not to mention skill, to pot an impressive snap drop goal from left of centre, despite the attentions of opposite number David Blair.
Deflated by this further setback, Edinburgh then lost Grove to the sin-bin, the midfielder punished for kicking the ball from the grasp of Ospreys replacement Mike Phillips while in an offside position.
The Welsh scrum-half went on to make a half-break that fellow substitute Jonathan Thomas followed up with a powerful drive. It took some heroic defending from Grant, Fraser McKenzie and replacement Steven Turnbull to convince the TMO that Thomas hadn't got the ball down, but Ospreys were not to be denied.
Almost instantly, they created an overlap on the left, and Phillips whipped the ball purposefully via Barry Davies to Fussell, who did the necessary in the corner. Biggar missed the conversion, but Ospreys' lead was now some 24 points.
There was consolation of sorts for Edinburgh in the closing stages, Visser capping a fine handling move with his second try in as many games. Like last week against Connacht, it was Thompson who played him in, this time with a cheeky reverse pass as he feigned to go the other way. David Blair's conversion brought the last two points of the game.
Ospreys: B Davies; N Walker, A Bishop, A Beck, R Fussell; D Biggar, J Nutbrown; D Jones, R Hibbard, C Mitchell, AW Jones, I Evans, J Tipuric, M Holah, R Jones
Substitutes: M Davies, P James, A Jones, I Gough, J Thomas, M Phillips, J Hook, T Bowe
Edinburgh: C Paterson; J Thompson, A Grove, D Bishop, T Visser; D Blair, M Blair; K Traynor, A Kelly, G Cross, E Lozada, F McKenzie, N Talei, R Rennie, R Grant (capt)
Substitutes: R Ford, A Jacobsen, D Young, S Turnbull, A MacDonald, G Laidlaw, J Houston, L Jones
Ref: J Jones (WRU)
