Guinness Pro12: Edinburgh 13-14 Connacht

Edinburgh were left dejected after Connacht's late victory try at Murrayfield.

Connacht snatched a late victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield to make it two wins from two Pro12 matches for the Irish outfit.

Two Tom Heathcote penalties and Cornell Du Preez's try gave Edinburgh a 13-6 half-time advantage, with Darragh Leader scoring two penalties for the visitors.

Leader scored another penalty in what was a disappointing second half.

But Connacht pounced late on to win it thanks to Willie Faloon's try.

Edinburgh were fresh from an impressive 14-13 win away at Munster and Connacht had beaten the Dragons 16-11 in their first match of the season.

Tom Heathcote proved lethal with the boot for Edinburgh in the first half against Connacht

The home side showed early signs of promise with Cornell Du Preez and Phil Burleigh almost breaking through the Connacht ranks.

From that attack, Edinburgh won a penalty thanks to a scrum infringement and Heathcote banged the ball between the sticks.

The visitors had the chance to level within a few minutes when Sam Beard gave away a penalty, but Leader's effort was off target.

The stop-start opening continued when Connacht were caught offside and Heathcote made it 6-0 with a superb kick from 45 metres.

Edinburgh then enjoyed a spell of possession, switching the ball from flank to flank looking for an opening. They went close, but Nick McLennan was just unable to reach Jack Cuthbert's kick.

The visitors had a chance to reduce the deficit, but Leader fired well wide of the uprights.

Connacht's Darragh Leader tries to break away but is held back by Nick McLennan

Leader was then handed a near unmissable opportunity after Tomas Leonardi gave away a penalty for failing to roll away and he finally got the Irish side on the board.

A mix-up between McLennan and Cuthbert at a line-out gave Connacht a scrum five metres from the Edinburgh line, but despite getting two bites at the cherry, they could not cash in to score a try that the game was crying out for.

When Edinburgh were judged to have pulled a scrum down, Connacht were given another penalty and Leader made no mistake, hauling his side deservedly level.

The home side upped the tempo in the last few minutes of the first half and got their reward. A well-worked move released Du Preez down the left and he had the easy task of crossing the line, with Heathcote adding the extras from a tight angle to make it 13-6 at the break.

Edinburgh had an early second-half chance to extend their lead, but Heathcote's penalty hit the outside of the post.

The impressive Du Preez broke through 10 minutes into the half, but the move broke down after a poor offload.

Both sides were searching for some rhythm, but the action was peppered with handling errors.

Leader landed his longest penalty of the night, from 30 metres, to make it 13-9 and that sparked a period of pressure from the visitors. Again, however, they were unable to make it count.

Edinburgh lock Fraser McKenzie keeps hold of the ball as he is taken down by the Connacht defence

Edinburgh looked to have given themselves a healthy cushion with 10 minutes left when Du Preez battled to the line following a scrum five metres from the Connacht line, but the TV official decided he had dropped the ball before crossing.

And that was to come back to bite Edinburgh with five minutes to play.

Replacement Sam Hidalgo Clyne gave away a penalty and, after the visitors kicked for touch, they mauled and rolled the ball over the line through Faloon.

The home side piled forward in the last few minutes, but their efforts were in vain as Connacht held on for victory.

Edinburgh: Jack Cuthbert; Sam Beard, Phil Burleigh, Andries Strauss, Nick McLennan; Tom Heathcote, Sean Kennedy; Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford (capt), John Andress, Fraser McKenzie, Ollie Atkins, Tomas Leonardi, Hamish Watson, Cornell Du Preez. Replacements: James Hilterbrand, Rory Sutherland, WP Nel, Anton Bresler, Mike Coman, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Grayson Hart, Joaquin Dominguez.

Connacht: Darragh Leader; Niyi Adeolokun, Robbie Henshaw, Dave McSharry, Danie Poolman; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Nathan White, Mick Kearney, Quinn Roux, John Muldoon (capt), Willie Faloon, Eoin McKeon. Replacements: Sean Henry, Finlay Bealham, Rodney Ah You, Aly Muldowney, George Naoupu, Ian Porter, Craig Ronaldson, Fionn Carr.