Glasgow moved top of United Rugby Championship with a win over Edinburgh at a soggy and slippery Scotstoun.

After briefly falling behind, Warriors upped the pressure as Johnny Matthews and Ally Miller added tries while visiting captain Grant Gilchrist was in the sin-bin.

The victory takes Glasgow one point in front of Leinster in the standings.

The inter-city rivals meet again in Edinburgh on 30 December, with the aggregate score settling the destination of the 1872 Cup.

Both teams came into this contest with five wins and two defeats. A four-point difference has now been doubled to eight, with Edinburgh dropping one place to seventh in the table.

Ross Thompson popped over a simple early penalty before a fierce wind suddenly fizzled out.

Edinburgh had a lot of the ball as they sought a response but the hosts were able to stretch their lead with a clinical counter. Stafford McDowall punched the initial hole and Rowe touched down as the Warriors swarmed forward.

On the half hour, Glasgow, already without Matt Fagerson and Rory Darge, lost Scotland hooker George Turner to a shoulder injury following a brave tackle on Duhan van der Merwe.

Edinburgh eventually made their territory count when veteran prop Nel nudged over from close range.

Ben Healy added the extras and missed the opportunity to give Edinburgh the lead soon after when his penalty from halfway zipped just wide.

With the rain getting heavier, the visitors struck first after the interval and it was a much friendlier range of penalty from Healy that moved them in front.

Loud groans of frustration filled the damp night air as misfiring Glasgow twice messed up lineouts in quick succession after kicking to the corner.

But Warriors stuck to their guns and repeated the ploy on the other flank. In the ensuing chaos Gilchrist was shown a yellow card. At the fourth attempt, Glasgow finally got their maul rumbling, with Matthews applying the finishing touch.

The home side added another try with Gilchrist looking on, moving the ball across the pitch at impressive speed for flanker Miller to nimbly skip by his man.

Edinburgh, who last won in the west in August 2020, never looked like staging a fightback once it was 15 v 15 again as the game ended with the Warriors fans in fine voice and not too upset that a bonus-point eluded their side.

Warriors 'stuck to the process' - Smith

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith: "The conditions were difficult. We stuck to the process. Edinburgh were a big physical challenge tonight, but our process took us through. The guys that came on did their jobs.

"I'm really proud of how the guys stepped up. We know Edinburgh are a fantastic side, and we don't expect anything less next week. They will want to redeem what happened tonight, but we'll enjoy Christmas first."

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt: "We withstood the pressure Glasgow put on us and came back nicely at the end of the first half.

"We were in the game until the 55th minute, and then gave away eight penalties - therein lies the result.

"We need to work on our discipline - it wasn't good enough today. We defended really well for multiple phases, and then individual discipline costs us.

"We've had a chat about it and we're determined to turn it around."

Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Jones, Tuipulotu (capt), McDowall, Rowe, Thompson, Horne; Bhatti, Turner, Z Fagerson, Cummings, Gray, Miller, Darge, Vailanu.

Replacements: Matthews, McBeth, Kebble, Peterson, Williamson, Venter, Afshar, Jordan.

Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, Currie, Lang, Van der Merwe, Healy, Price; Schoeman, Ashman, Nel, Young, Gilchrist (capt), Ritchie, Watson, Mata.

Replacements: Cherry, Venter, Rae, Sykes, Crosbie, Vellacott, Bennett, Boffelli.