Glasgow fight hard for 19-16 win over Ospreys at Scotstoun in PRO12
Last Updated: 22/02/15 3:20pm
Glasgow Warriors stay top of the Guinness PRO12 table after holding on to secure a hard-fought 19-16 win over the Ospreys at the Scotstoun Stadium.
With 23 minutes to go, the league leaders were behind on Saturday but clawed their way to victory thanks to two penalties from Peter Horne in the final quarter of an hour.
The relief was palpable at the final whistle as Glasgow earned their 16th consecutive home league win to move four points clear at the top of the table, while the Ospreys remain in fifth place.
In a game of contrasting approaches, the attacking style of Glasgow saw them lead 10-6 at half-time thanks to hooker Pat MacArthur's early converted try and another penalty from fly-half Horne, with two penalties from Ospreys counterpart Sam Davies keeping the visitors within touching distance.
A further penalty from Horne early in the second half suggested it would be more of the same, but a try out of nothing from Ospreys winger Tom Grabham - converted by Davies, who then added a penalty - turned the tables.
However, the Warriors regrouped successfully and two further penalties from Horne secured the win and condemned Ospreys to a second defeat in two weeks in Scotland. They claimed a bonus point but were left two points outside the top four that will contest the Championship play-off.
Glasgow, unbeaten at home in league games since November 2013, immediately put their guests on the back foot with a dynamic opening on a chilly evening during which both prop Ryan Bevington and left winger Daf Howells had to be replaced.
The visitors - chasing their first win in Glasgow since September 2009 - initially repelled two home surges, but in the 13th minute the Warriors won the fifth scrum of the night, and the first to reach a conclusion.
In the Ospreys' 22, the ball went left before being switched right where winger Nikko Matawalu put in hooker MacArthur for a try converted from far out by Horne.
Ospreys kicker Davies missed his first two penalty attempts but on 26 minutes, his third put Ospreys on the scoreboard. He added another penalty to cut Glasgow's lead to 7-6.
The hosts' free-flowing approach continued and the first kickable penalty arrived in the 36th minute, with Horne's success sending Glasgow in at the interval with a four-point buffer.
Just prior to the end of the half, Glasgow lost flanker Tyrone Holmes on a stretcher to be replaced by inexperienced Will Bordill.
Glasgow opened the second half on the attack, with Horne landing another penalty.
But in the 53rd minute, a training-ground move at an attacking line-out sent Ospreys winger Grabham through a hole for a try by the posts that Davies converted to tie the scores. Three minutes later he put his side ahead with a penalty.
Horne levelled on 66 minutes with his third penalty and, with five minutes to go, following a flashing run from replacement winger Rory Hughes to the Ospreys line, Horne kicked a simple penalty to restore the lead and secure victory.
