Matt Sherratt was proud of Cardiff’s fighting spirit as star-studded Edinburgh ground their way to a hard fought victory in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
The Blue & Blacks completely disrupted the confident home side during an all-action first-half. They led 8-5 at half-time but it could have been more with one try ruled out and a strong argument for a penalty try not given.
But in the second-half Edinburgh, who included three British & Irish Lions, showed their quality, while marginal calls went against the visitors at an increasing rate.
The pressure eventually told and Edinburgh wrapped up the bonus-point in the closing stages but the score-line flattered the hosts and Sherratt was pleased with his side’s effort against the odds.
"It was a pretty tight encounter, wasn't it? I think probably the set on half-time epitomised what we were about," said Sherratt.
"We defended our goal line, defended driving line-ups, defended scrums. You saw a real committed, passionate Cardiff performance there for large parts of the game.
"The second half got away from us for a number of reasons. The penalty count was a major one...I think we conceded 10 penalties, a couple of yellow cards against a good Edinburgh team, with quality coming off the bench, it was very difficult in the end to stem the flow of the game.
"I think when the momentum of the game has swung on a home crowd, the 50-50s will go with a home team. I'll be honest, we were disappointed with some of the calls in the game, but straight after the game it's difficult. We need to have a look back and see where we can improve rather than worry too much about the referee.
"We played some good stuff when we put some phases together. I thought they were holding on. There were probably a couple of crucial moments, end of the first half, when we were driving line-out five metres from their line and they came away with the ball. It's a huge momentum swing, you're potentially going in 12-3 and it's a different feeling in the second half.
"I think the fight, the emotional attachment to the club, how the players fought for each other was there in buckets today and it was one of the best performances in terms of the effort that I've seen from us for a long time, definitely this season.
"We just need to add some quality on top of that and we won't be far away."
Next up for the Blue and Blacks is Ulster at the Arms Park on Saturday, 26th October, and Sherratt is keen his side put on a good performance for the Cardiff supporters before the international break.
"You'd like to think at home, some of the momentum and some of the calls will go with us, then we'll be right in the contest against a good Ulster side," added Sherratt.
"We'll dust ourselves off tonight, enjoy each other's company, make sure Tuesday we come in and give a performance that our home fans deserve to finish the block off."