Cooney stars as Ulster seal crucial 20-32 win over Edinburgh

Edinburgh 20 - 32 Ulster, BT Murrayfield

John Cooney starred with 17 points as Ulster registered a 20-32 win over Edinburgh in their Pro 14 clash at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Friday.

Despite, the result both Edinburgh and Ulster have retained their third and fourth positions respectively but the gap has now come down to eight points, though the Irish regional side have an additional game in hand.

Duncan Weir kicked the proceedings for Edinburgh with a ninth-minute penalty goal but Ulster's strength at set-piece was evident and a line-out led to centre Darren Cave crossing over in the 12th minute that was improved by Cooney to take the visitors to 3-7 lead.

Weir brought the gap to just one point with his second penalty but back to back touchdowns from fullback Charles Piutau (19') and Cooney (23') with the second being a converted try put the Irish regional side into a 6-19 lead. With 10 minutes to go for the break, Weir led the fightback from Edinburgh as his converted try reduced the trail to six points.

Cooney with his first penalty goal provided breathing space for Ulster but a penalty try awarded to Edinburgh in the 57th minute kept Richard Cockerill's men in the game with the gap coming down to two points at the end of the third quarter.

Edinburgh could not press on with their momentum in the final quarter but instead, Iain Henderson with his 78th-minute touchdown with Cooney kicking a conversion and a penalty on either side sealed an 18-32 victory for Ulster.