Their points on the day came from hooker and captain Craig Cowan and scrum-half Gary Munro with tries, while centre Robbie Yourston slotted one penalty and a conversion.

It was the centre partnership that really impressed with Yourston providing the kicking duties and outside man, Rory Marshall running some impressive lines throughout the game.

Marshall set up Munro’s try, with a cracking meandering run through the Highland defence and was also named man of the match.

Head Coach Calum Brown said: “We didn’t quite hit the heights we hoped to today, but we’ll take the win.

“We underestimated Highland a little. We saw footage of their match with Hawick Wanderers and were sure we could more than match a few elements of their game, but they have very good players who fought hard for each other.

“We are now hoping to go the rest of the season unbeaten with the Border Cup still to come and the league already sewn up.

“We’re delighted to be the first Jed team to defend this trophy and the first team to play at BT Murrayfield.” Both sides were at loggerheads in the opening 20 minutes of the match, taking turns at attacking and making substantial ground, but both were strong in defence.

The first try of the game then came after 24 minutes when Cowan crossed the whitewash.

Only one more opportunity was taken for points, in the first half, as Yourston slotted a penalty two minutes shy of the break, giving the Borderers an 8-0 lead at half-time.

Thistle came out the blocks flying in the second half and were quickly on the board once again, following Marshall’s break and offload to Munro. Yourston converted.

It was at this point that Highland stepped up a gear, and for much of the remainder of the tie they turned the heat onto their opponents.

However, both sides were slightly hindered by their errors.

Flanker Euan Milton scored Highland’s first try after 49 minutes and then replacement, Cameron Beattie at the end of the game on 70 minutes touched down, which completed the scoring.