Red card for Ulster, red faces for Edinburgh.

Even when the Scottish side were facing 13 men for the final six minutes, they failed to manufacture the score they needed to rescue a match where they had fired only only in fits and starts. Afterwards, Alan Solomons, the head coach, was almost speechless with frustration at a result thrown away.

It ends Edinburgh's run of home wins that extends back 10 games to the second match of the season, and gives the sides around them the chance to pull clear in the battle for a European Champions Cup spot next season.

"It was very frustrating," Solomons said afterwards. "Our kicking was a major factor in that, both out of hand, which was not good enough, or off the floor, where there were 12 easy points that we let go begging. Then, at the end, key errors, including two skewed throws into line outs on their line, cost us."

It was a day when nothing much went right for his side. Neil Cochrane, the hooker, was playing a blinder until he hurt a rib and had to go off, Ben Toolis, the lock, was pulled from the game at half time on Scotland team orders, and Mike Coman, the captain, hurt his neck, which played a role in the lack of leadership in the final moments.

On top of that Tom Heathcote, who had been drafted back into the side partly for his kicking missed six out of 10 shots at goal, at least four of them, Solomons said, ones that should have been seen as bread and butter kicks for a player at this level.

That said, they still had chances at the end and messed them all up. The red card had come just as the game was entering its final quarter when Stuart McCloskey, the Ulster centre, upended Hamish Watson, the Edinburgh flanker as he was trying to clear out a ruck.

It was probably stupid rather than a deliberate attempt to injure, but in a week when headlines have been dominated by the problems of tipping a player past the horizontal after events in the Scotland - Wales match on the same ground five days earlier it is hard to understand what he could have been thinking of.

His moment of stupidity was then compounded six minutes from time when Franco van der Merwe, the lock, pulled down a maul on his own line and was sin binned for a professional foul. Up against 13 men with plenty of time, and only three points behind, Edinburgh knew the game was theirs to win.

Only they never really got a grip on proceedings. They lost the ball a couple of times in contact, they were turned over in a ruck, they threw badly into the line out - just about everything they did ended in a a mistake.

Not that they should they have been in that position of hunting that score in the first place. They had had a brilliant start, had at least as much of the game as Ulster but too many kicks went awry for them to maintain the territorial pressure while Heathcote could not keeping the scoreboard ticking over.

Not that Edinburgh could have complained about their start. Though there had been plenty of threat from Ulster in the opening minutes, the Scots had been able to cope with it all comfortably enough and when they did get their hands on the ball it was spectacular.

It started with a break from the back of a ruck by Cochrane with flankers Roddy Grant and Watson in support to carry the ball deep into the Irish 22. Though they were eventually stopped, quick ball from the ruck caught the Ulster players still retreating and Coman, the captain, provided the perfect pass to put Phil Burleigh, the centre in for the opening try.

It was enough to force Ulster to step up a gear, though there was an element of luck to the score when it came - Edinburgh stealing the ball but letting it go loose behind their own line to hand the visitors a scrum. Two goes at a crash ball in midfield and Ruan Pienaar, the scrum half, nipped over from short range and converted himself.

Heathcote, who is leaving at the end of the season, did restore the home side's lead with a couple of penalties but missed two more, all the kicks coming from about the 10metre line, while Pienaar added one for Ulster to leave the Scots four points up at the break.

The lead was soon only one point as another mistake handed Pienaar his second kick and then the defence had a dozy moment to allow Nick Williams, the powerhouse No.8, through the first line and his perfect offload to Darren Cave gave Ulster their second try, and what, with Pienaar's conversion, turned out to be enough of a cushion.

Scorers: Edinburgh: Try: Burleigh (9) Pens: Heathcote (17, 30, 36, 62)

Ulster: Tries: Pienaar (13), Cave (50). Cons: Pienaar 2. Pens: Pienaar (34, 48) Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 5-0, 5-7, 8-7, 11-7, 11-10, 14-10 (half time), 14-13, 14-20, 17-20.

Edinburgh: J Cuthbert; D Fife, S Beard, P Burleigh, T Visser; T Heathcote, G Hart; R Sutherland (G Shiells, 71), N Cochrane (J Hiltebrand, 52), W P Nel (J Andress, 60), A Bresler, B Toolis (O Atkins, 41), R Grant, H Watson, M Coman (c, H Blake, 41).

Ulster: L Ludik; C Gilroy, D Cave, S McCloskey (sent : 58), M Allen (P Nelson, 66); I Humphreys (P Marshall, 67), R Pienaar; C Black, R Herring, W Herbst (B Ross, 67), I Henderson (L Stevenson, 54), F Van der Merwe (sin bin: 74-end), R Wilson (c), M McComish (C Ross, 68), N Williams (L Marshall, 64).

Referee: L Hodges (Wales)

Attendance: 4,797