NEW Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy began his reign with a win last night, though his players were made to dig deep for an attritional 23-7 triumph over Aironi.

The victory fortified the Ospreys' grip on second place in the RaboDirect Pro12 table, but this was not a match which captured the imagination at the Liberty Stadium.

Warren Gatland had described Tandy's appointment as "starting again" for the Ospreys, and the new head coach will have been encouraged and frustrated in equal measure by this curtain-raiser to his tenure.

A win over Aironi may not be a panacea for all the Ospreys' ills, but beginning this new chapter brightly was imperative.

Doubters

There will be no shortage of doubters for Tandy and his new regime as these are testing times in the region's short history.

The winds of austerity are sweeping through the domestic game, with all four Welsh regions having to radically reduce costs both on and off the field.

But last night's victory was at least a glimpse of what the Ospreys could achieve with a squad comprised largely of young, homegrown prospects.

The Ospreys wasted little time in asserting themselves. Teenage wing Eli Walker was hauled down a yard short of the Aironi try line after two minutes and moments later the home side took the lead.

Opting for a scrum from a free-kick five metres out, the Ospreys pack rumbled forward menacingly, squeezing their opponents into submission. Aironi buckled and, with the scrum collapsed, referee Marius Mitrea ran under the posts to indicate a penalty try.

Dan Biggar added a simple conversion, and Tandy's reign was under way in fine fashion.

There was a snap and vigour to the Ospreys' approach in the opening stages, kicking intelligently for territory and pressuring their nervy opponents with some forceful running.

Missing seven Italian internationals, Aironi were visibly weakened up front. Keen to expose this frailty, the Ospreys called for scrums as often as possible and the tactic appeared to work as they sent the visitors' set-piece into reverse.

The Ospreys' forward dominance was evident in the loose as well, with Richard Hibbard a particularly effective battering ram.

Aironi did manage to disrupt the home side on occasions, but Biggar extended the former Celtic champions' lead to 10-0 with a penalty after 27 minutes.

The visitors made things harder for themselves shortly afterwards as their experienced Italian flanker Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned for striking Rhys Webb off the ball.

The numerical disadvantage did nothing to hamper Aironi's efforts. To the contrary, they enjoyed their best spell of possession in the first half and came close to a try after a break by fly-half Naas Olivier.

Sting

This period of ball in Italian hands rather took the sting out of proceedings, though the Ospreys mustered one final attack before half-time.

Faced with another advancing Ospreys maul, Aironi held firm and cleared to enter the interval ten points down and boosted by Bergamasco's return.

Anxious to inject some urgency into the encounter, the Ospreys started the second half in bright fashion.

Biggar made a sharp break in midfield and hared towards the Aironi 22. The fly-half then grubber-kicked to the supporting Walker, but the visitors' covering defenders ushered the ball out of play.

With his next kick, a penalty, Biggar stretched the Ospreys' advantage again to 13-0 and took his personal tally for the region past 900 points.

The home side struggled to replicate the rhythm with which they played in the first 20 minutes, and the stodginess of the match appeared to suit Aironi.

Rowland Phillips's men had two opportunities to break their duck, but fly-half Olivier pushed two penalty attempts wide.

The sluggish, disjointed nature of the contest did Tandy's side no favours as they became the latest team to be frustrated by Aironi's dogged, gritty approach.

There were even some groans from the crowd when Biggar opted for the kick at goal which gave the Ospreys a 16-0 cushion.

The Liberty supporters were a little chirpier as Biggar kicked to the corner, and they were momentarily on their feet when Alun Wyn Jones was held up on the Aironi try line.

Ingenuity

On came fly-half Matthew Morgan to bring some ingenuity to the midfield, but even the elusive Welsh Youth international was thwarted by the Italians' pugnacious defending.

The game was in desperate need of a try and, somewhat surprisingly, it came from Aironi.

The marvellously named winger Sinoti Sinoti broke through some weak tackles to canter under the posts and, with Olivier's conversion, Aironi had hope of an unlikely comeback at 16-7 down.

Any such aspirations were quickly extinguished, though, as a crunching tackle from Tom Smith saw the ball spill free for Andrew Bishop to pick up and run over unopposed from 40 yards. Morgan then converted to put something of a gloss on the scoreline.

Sterner examinations await Tandy's troops, namely next Friday's trip to Ulster, but they will be relieved to have overcome this sticky Italian challenge.