Ospreys stumble past Scarlets
Dan Lydiate marked his first start for Ospreys with a try, as his side struggled past Scarlets 17-15 in the first of back-to-back derbies.
The Llanelli outfit have won only once at the Liberty Stadium, back in 2007, and that record was extended in this derby day scrap, as first Aisea Natoga then Lydiate crashed over to give Ospreys a 17-9 halftime lead.
Three Steven Shingler penalties got the visitors back to within two points, but Ospreys defence stood firm to continue Scarlets' horrible history in Swansea.
Lydiate was making his first start for Ospreys after coming off the bench last week, but it was Scarlets who struck the first blow.
The visitors won a penalty from the scrum on six minutes, and Rhys Priestland hit a fine kick over from long range in tricky conditions.
In a feisty start, Kristian Phillips saw yellow on nine minutes for Scarlets, after a dangerous tackle on Dan Evans, and Dan Biggar immediately responded with a kick of his own to level the score.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Priestland limped off after 16 minutes, but the Llanelli outfit did manage to see out the remainder of Phillips' sin bin without conceding.
As the wing re-entered the fray, Steve Shingler, on for Priestland and taking over kicking duties, struck a perfect penalty to put Scarlets back in front after 19 minutes.
But when Liam Williams' clearance kick was charged down a minute later, Ospreys recovered the ball and Tyler Ardron looked to have crashed over for the first try of the evening.
The No.8 was denied by the TMO though, who ruled he had been held up, and the Scarlets managed to clear with a huge effort in the five-metre scrum.
Ospreys were not to be denied however, and after dominating possession Natoga , on for Eli Walker, dived over after 29 minutes following a scrappy passage of play.
And Ospreys piled on the pressure, going over again four minutes later with a driving maul after Rhys Webb's superb grubber kick forced Phillips to take the ball into touch, Lydiate showing his power to finally get the ball down for the try.
Biggar remained perfect from the kicking tee, putting over both conversions, before another Shingler penalty from the scrum kept the under-pressure Scarlets in touch at 17-9 before the interval.
After a cagey start to the second period, Scarlets began to build possession for the first time in the match and earned some territory in the Ospreys 22.
After turning around a 54th minute scrum, Samson Lee putting in a mammoth shift at tighthead, Shingler kicked yet another penalty to bring his side back to within one score.
Ospreys' ill-discipline continued as they were penalised time and time again, before a mix-up between Evans and Webb led to Evans knocking on a routine catch from Shingler's punt upfield.
The visitors' dominance at scrum-time continued, but they could not find a way through the resolute Ospreys defence, settling for three points from a Shingler penalty again when Scott Baldwin put his hands in the ruck with 15 minutes remaining.
Even Biggar was feeling the pressure, missing touch with a penalty as Scarlets tightened the screws in the final few minutes.
But still they could not find a match-winning try, and when Biggar forced a turnover with two minutes left, Ospreys could keep hold of the ball until the clock ticked into the red.
*Elsewhere, Glasgow Warriors have one hand on the 1872 Cup after Josh Strauss' firsthalf try was the tipping point in an error-strewn contest.
Edinburgh have lost nine of the last ten contests between the Scottish rivals and were always likely to be up against it, with Gregor Townsend's team unbeaten in Pro12 contests at Scotstoun in 13 months.
However, the home team's failure to turn their superiority into further scores gives Edinburgh hope of overturning a 10-point deficit in next weekend's rematch to grab the 1872 Cup from Glasgow's grasp.
All Saturday's scores and scorers!
Glasgow Warriors 16-6 Edinburgh
For Glasgow:
Try: Strauss
Con: Weir
Pens: Weir 3
For Edinburgh:
Pens: Hidalgo-Clyne, Heathcote
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Rob Harley, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Richie Vernon, 23 Sean Maitland.
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Stuart McInally, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Phil Burleigh.
Referee: George Clancy
Assistant referees: David Changleng, Bob Nevins
TMO: Iain Ramage
Ospreys 17-15 Scarlets
For Ospreys:
Tries: Lydiate, Natoga
Cons: Biggar 2
Pen: Biggar
For Scarlets:
Pens: Priestland, Shingler 4
Yellow card: Kristian Phillips (Scarlets, 9)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 James King, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Aisea Natoga.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rory Pitman, 7 John Barclay (captain), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 George Earle, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Steffan Hughes.
Referee: Marius Mitrea
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies, Jon Mason
TMO: Derek Bevan