Pro14: Ospreys 20-11 Cardiff Blues

Ospreys claimed a 14th win from 15 matches against Cardiff Blues

Ospreys beat Cardiff Blues in a gritty Pro14 derby to extend their opponents' losing streak at the Liberty Stadium to 14 years.

Tries from Scott Williams and George North - either side of Garyn Smith's score for the Blues - gave the hosts a 14-8 half-time lead.

It became a cagey encounter from that point, Sam Davies and Gareth Anscombe trading penalties.

Davies then struck a late, long-range drop-goal to end any Blues comeback.

The result lifts the home side up to third in Pro14 Conference A, five points ahead of the Blues in fifth.

Victory came at a cost for Ospreys, with Wales lock Adam Beard leaving the field on a stretcher wearing a neck brace and fellow international, prop Rhodri Jones, taken off with what looked like an arm injury.

But in terms of the Ospreys' result and performance, this was a fine riposte to becoming the first Welsh region in four years to be beaten by Dragons in their previous outing.

The Blues were chasing a clean sweep of Christmas and New Year Welsh derby victories having edged past Dragons at home and then stunned Scarlets with a 34-5 triumph which ended the Llanelli-based region's two-and-a-half year unbeaten league record at Parc y Scarlets.

To complete the set, however, the Blues would have to do something they had not achieved since 2005 by beating Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

Blues scrum-half Tomos Williams is tackled by his opposite number Aled Davies

They may have been optimistic of ending that sequence having seen the Ospreys lose to Dragons last Sunday, but it was the hosts who started strongest in Swansea.

Centre Williams fended off an uncharacteristically weak tackle from his Wales team-mate Josh Navidi to force his way over for a fourth-minute opening try, converted by Davies.

Blues responded immediately - Garyn Smith touching down from Gareth Anscombe's pinpoint crossfield kick - but their joy was short-lived.

The Ospreys' scrum was in the ascendancy early on, earning penalties which allowed the home side to dominate possession and territory.

That control gave them several promising attacking positions, and from one of those Davies found North with a perfectly weighted kick to restore the Ospreys' lead to 14-5.

The Blues grew into the game towards the end of the first half, fighting back in the scrum and reducing the deficit with an Anscombe penalty.

While competitive, the visitors were not at their disruptive best at the breakdown, struggling to force the turnovers which have become a hallmark of theirs.

That meant their opponents were able to keep the ball for long periods and, after the interval, Davies kicked the Ospreys into a 17-8 lead.

The match became increasingly disjointed as it wore on, a combination of defensive endeavour and handling errors meaning neither team could attack with much fluency.

Anscombe gave the Blues hope with a second penalty to reduce their opponents' advantage to 17-11 but, with only a flicker of attacking threat from the visitors in the closing stages, Ospreys sealed victory - and denied the Blues a losing bonus point - with Davies' late drop-goal.

Ospreys head coach Allen Clarke said: "It was derby football, they're always cagey games, we had good dominance early on and scored a good try.

"We managed to build some pressure on the scoreboard and we led all the way through.

"We're really satisfied with the win, we weren't happy with some elements of our game last week and we will try and build on this, but we felt quite dominant out there today."

Cardiff Blues head coach John Mulvihill said: "The game got away from us in the first 20 minutes.

"We allowed them 14 points and we gave away too many penalties early on which gave them a lot of confidence so that was really disappointed considering how we've played in recent weeks."

Ospreys: Dan Evans; George North, Cory Allen, Scott Williams, Luke Morgan; Sam Davies, Aled Davies; Rhodri Jones, Scott Baldwin, Tom Botha, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Olly Cracknell, Justin Tipuric (capt), Sam Cross.

Replacements: Scott Otten, Gareth Thomas, Alex Jeffries, Lloyd Ashley, James King, Tom Habberfield, Luke Price, Owen Watkin.

Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Blaine Scully, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Garyn Smith; Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Rhys Gill, Kristian Dacey (capt), Dmitri Arhip, Seb Davies, Josh Turnbull, Josh Navidi, Olly Robinson, Nick Williams.

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Brad Thyer, Dillon Lewis, George Earle, Rory Thornton, Lloyd Williams, Steven Shingler, Owen Lane.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU).

Assistant referees: Elgan Williams (WRU), Dewi Phillips (WRU)

TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)