Glasgow 17-0 Edinburgh: Warriors triumph after stadium evacuation
By PA
Last Updated: 30/12/17 6:53pm
Glasgow shrugged off a stadium evacuation to defeat Edinburgh 17-0 in their Guinness PRO14 clash at Scotstoun and set up an 1872 Cup decider.
Four penalties from Scotland fly-half Finn Russell secured the Warriors victory in a scrappy affair, with wing Lee Jones touching down in added time to add the icing on the cake and spark an on-pitch melee.
The result saw Glasgow redeem themselves after suffering defeat to 14-man Edinburgh in last weekend's opening leg of the three-game 1872 Cup series between the Scottish sides.
And just like last week, Glasgow made a positive start, but the game turned into a stop-start error-strewn affair.
When the Warriors got their first touch in the fifth minute, centre Alec Dunbar blasted through a pair of would-be tacklers and the subsequent play yielded a penalty kicked by Russell.
The hosts continued to press and turned the screw at scrum time, but penalties and turnovers were often followed by handling errors as both sides surrendered possession needlessly.
In turn, when Edinburgh got their chance to apply pressure it took sharp work by Ruaridh Jackson, Russell and Ali Price to keep the home line secure.
As the contest settled down into a series of penalties and squandered opportunities the most dramatic moment of the first-half arrived two minutes before the break when a fire alarm sounded and forced both fans and players to evacuate the stadium.
Thirty minutes passed before the game resumed with both sides agreeing that they would cap the first half at 38 minutes, with the recommencement of play marking the start of the second half.
Within minutes, Russell swiftly doubled the hosts' lead with a long-range penalty and by the 57th minute he had edged his side 9-0 ahead as Edinburgh were made to pay for their indiscipline.
The teams largely cancelled each other out as the game wore on with the occasional piece of magic immediately countered by an error.
And when a high Edinburgh tackle was punished by Russell's fourth penalty with six minutes left on the clock the result was all but certain.
In second-half injury-time Glasgow added the gloss of a try when wing Jones touched down for a score which was accompanied by a punch-up.
That earned yellow cards for home replacement Chris Fusaro and visiting substitute Fraser McKenzie, but the result and the evacuation were much bigger talking points.