Scotland fly-half Dan Parks inspired Glasgow to a 20-14 victory against Newport Gwent Dragons in the Celtic League.
Parks kicked 10 points and set up Max Evans’ second try with a beautifully weighted cross-field kick at Rodney Parade to help the Scottish side towards mid-table.
But the Welshmen, and in particular outside-half Aled Thomas, were left kicking themselves for losing a game they should have won.
Glasgow were just one place above the Dragons in the table before kick-off so there was a lot resting on the result, particularly as the visitors were after revenge for an 18-16 reverse at Firhill on January 4.
After some early pressure from the Dragons, where Thomas missed two penalties, Glasgow hit back with a couple of scores.
Wing Max Evans got the first touchdown of the afternoon as flanker Kelly Brown put him in from 10 metres after pressure on the home line.
A conversion and penalty from Parks put Glasgow 10-0 ahead before Thomas finally slotted a simple 15-metre shot through the posts to cut the arrears.
Thomas booted another penalty to make it 10-6 on the half hour but, as the game threatened to lose its’ way through countless handling errors, the Dragons went up in tempo and took the lead.
Left wing Richard Fussell sent right wing Gareth Wyatt screeching down the touchline for a superb 30-metre try.
And they should have scored another try before the interval as a magnificent handling movement broke down when centre Rhodri Gomar-Davies dropped the ball.
With their tails up, a third Thomas penalty on the stroke of half-time sent the Welshmen in 14-10 ahead.
However, the downward spiral came when Thomas missed another seemingly straight-forward kick from 30 metres on the resumption.
Those lost points were vital as Parks brought the Warriors back to within a point when the home side were penalised 35 metres out for not rolling away from a ruck.
Glasgow could sense the win and retook the lead when Evans’ brother, Thom, got his second try of the match in spectacular style when Parks cross-kicked into the right-hand corner.
The winger then leapt high to cling onto the ball ahead of Dragons flanker Joe Bearman and cross. An equally good touchline conversion from Parks turned the match on its’ head and left the Welsh region chasing the game.
As has been the case a lot of times at Rodney Parade this season, the Welsh region put in a last-gasp effort to save their bacon.
But needless errors and more handling mistakes meant another home defeat and a happy team bus for the haul back to Scotland for the visitors.
