Despite a courageous effort, Connacht snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Friday night as Colin Gregor’s 80th-minute penalty steered the Glasgow Warriors to their first win of the season at Firhill.
Listen to Michael Bradley’s Post-Match Reaction
Glasgow v Connacht Match Photos
Australian Tim Donnelly kicked three penalty goals from four attempts and landed two excellent drop goals but it was not enough to prevent Connacht from slipping to their second successive defeat in the league.
The game, Glasgow’s first at Firhill, the home of Patrick Thistle FC, since May 2006, was tight throughout and Connacht had to overcome the early loss of prop Ronan Loughney through injury and a 19th-minute yellow card for back rower Colm Rigney to stay in touch.
Chasing only their second league win since early March, Connacht held the edge in the early exchanges and Donnelly punished a Glasgow offside with a smartly-struck penalty in the third-minute.
Connacht’s lead lasted all of eight minutes before Gregor replied – although the Glasgow out-half did miss two kickable chances either side of his successful effort.
Rigney’s sin-binning for an off-the-ball tackle did prove crucial as Glasgow manage to bulldoze their way through for a try while the visitors were down to 14 men.
Some incisive running from the Glasgow backs helped the hosts make use of their numerical advantage. New Zealander Daryl Gibson and Argentinian full-back Bernardo Stortoni came more and more into the game as the Warriors began to launch some surges from the rear.
Connacht’s defence looked to be holding out as a great tackle from centre Mel Deane prevented Sam Pinder from grabbing a try for Glasgow.
However, the next phase of play saw the Scots cross the whitewash as Stortoni took the ball on before number eight John Beattie crashed over the line.
Stortoni continued to look the best attacking back on the field as he almost linked up with Pinder, who narrowly failed to gather the full-back’s pass. Connacht held out and as the clock ticked towards half-time, the westerners managed to pick off a late three points as Donnelly fired over a drop goal.
Glasgow’s 10-6 interval lead was added to shortly after the resumption with Gregor landing a penalty. Donnelly replied soon after and the province’s clever play and tough tackling saw them stay well in the hunt for the four points.
A brilliantly-timed tackle from new winger Ofisa Treviranus halted Gregor as he looked to add a try to his and Glasgow’s tally. Encouraged by their rearguard action, Connacht reduced the deficit to a single point when Donnelly pinged a lovely 45-metre drop goal through the uprights.
Glasgow’s nerves jangled for a while and Donnelly had Connacht on course for a smash-and-grab win when he raised the flags with a drilled 70th-minute penalty from all of halfway.
At this point it was really anybody’s game. However, Connacht’s over-reliance on Donnelly’s kicks was their undoing as without a try on the night, their 15-13 lead was soon cancelled out.
From close in, Gregor landed only his fourth successful kick from eight attempts on the night to send Glasgow back in front and 16-15 is how it stayed as the Warriors beat Connacht for the third time since last November.
This website uses cookies.
Read More