Which team will host a Heineken Cup quarter-final?
Munster(37%)
Toulouse(22%)
Leinster(15%)
Biarritz(17%)
Ospreys(4%)
Leicester Tigers(2%)
Stade Français Paris(3%)
Glasgow Warriors kept their Heineken Cup hopes alive with a convincing 33-11 ictory over Gloucester on Friday night.
Sean Lineen’s men outscored their English opponents by two tries to one to move off the bottom of the Pool 2 table.
The Scottish outfit entered the Round 3 encounter at Firhill on the back of successive European defeats in the opening two weekends of action back in October but this result means they still have a chance of reaching their first-ever Heineken Cup quarter-final.
Dan Parks kept the scoreboard ticking over for Glasgow with an assured display with the boot, while two tries in five minutes in the latter stages of the first half gave them a 27-11 lead at the break.
Outside centre Max Evans was the first Glasgow player to cross the line with 32 minutes on the clock.
At that stage the game was hanging in the balance after a Charlie Sharples try for Gloucester had interrupted a kicking dual between Parks and Nicky Robinson.
Four successful penalties from the Glasgow fly-half compared to two from Robinson had seen the home team move 12-6 in front before Sharples struck on 22 minutes.
The Gloucester wing beat opposite number Peter Murchie far too easily to race over from 20 metres after Gloucester had claimed a misplaced up-and-under from Parks deep in Glasgow territory.
Robinson’s missed conversion was immediately followed by a yellow card for skipper Peter Buxton and a fifth successful penalty from Parks, with Evans then pushing Glasgow further in front just after the half-hour mark.
The elder of the Evans brothers showed just why he is regarded as one of the biggest attacking talents in Scottish rugby as he created something from nothing for a fine individual score.
Glasgow found themselves outnumbered when they gambled on moving the ball wide left having stolen lineout ball on the opposite side of the pitch and just five metres from the Gloucester line.
But even though Gloucester appeared to have the danger covered, a half stop and step from Evans took him through the midfield defence and his momentum did the rest.
Parks was off target with the difficult conversion for the first time in the match but Glasgow were two scores clear at 20-11.
And things went from bad to worse for Gloucester as Bernard Stortoni’s well-taken try increased the gap to 14 points three minutes before the interval.
The Argentine full back danced over unopposed after a finely-judged cut out pass from Parks split the Gloucester cover wide on the right.
This time, Parks made no mistake with the conversion, stretching the advantage to three scores from another challenging angle.
The second half was a far less free-scoring affair, but that won’t cause Lineen and his team to lose any sleep.
Glasgow never looked in danger of letting their commanding lead slip, even when lock Dan Turner headed to the sin bin with just over an hour played.
On the occasions when Gloucester did threaten to mount a come back, a loose pass or an untimely knock on stopped them in their tracks.
Instead it was Glasgow who notched the only points of the second period, with Parks kicking his sixth and seventh penalties three minutes into the half and six minutes from full time respectively.
Glasgow now travel to Kingsholm for the return fixture on a high, while Bryan Redpath’s Gloucester will need to pick themselves up quickly following their second defeat in three Heineken Cup games.