| Ospreys Make It Three Out Of Three |
Glasgow Warriors |
18 - 21 |
Ospreys |
| Firhill Arena Att: 2,651 |
| Friday 12th September 2008, 18:30 |
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| A 79th-minute converted try from Alun Wyn Jones maintained the Ospreys' winning start to this season's Magners League as despite Dan Parks kicking his way to the top of the league's all-time top scorers list, Glasgow slipped to their first defeat in seven games. |
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| The Ospreys players salute their fans after their nail-biting late win over Glasgow at Firhill |
| © Graham Stuart Photography |
Dan Parks may have surpassed David Humphreys as the Magners League's all-time leading scorer (792 points), but the Scotland international had a jittery night in front of the Firhill posts.
He missed five place-kicks in all - four penalties and a conversion - but after his match-winning performance at the Dragons last week, it was hard to be critical of the record breaker.
Glasgow coach Sean Lineen said afterwards: "It's safe to say Dan didn't have one of his better games. If he'd kicked his goals we'd have won, but he has won many games for us so it happens.
"He's a crucial player for us and we all have to get our heads together now. It's a long season. We have to get it right against Connacht next week."
The unbeaten Ospreys travelled north in buoyant mood after their derby demolition of the Cardiff Blues on Tuesday.
Their coach Sean Holley opted to make a whopping twelve changes to the side that beat the Blues, with 18-year-old fly-half Daniel Biggar and Kiwi scrum half Jamie Nutbrown making their first league starts.
Another notable inclusion was centre David Bishop, who was back in the Welsh region's starting line-up after nearly three years out through injury.
Complications to a fractured kneecap injury delayed his return but it was a special night for the 24-year-old, who was playing alongside his younger brother Andrew.
Glasgow had named an unchanged selection but centre Max Evans was ruled out with an injury picked up in training, and Andrew Henderson stepped in to take his place.
There were many twists and turns in the game, not least when Parks missed his first three penalty kicks and the Ospreys moved into an 8-0 lead.
With Marty Holah and Filo Tiatia dovetailing well in the back row, the Ospreys' physicality came to bear as Glasgow were hit hard in the tackle and put under pressure at the breakdown.
It the Ospreys' younger generation who did the damage on the scoreboard early on.
Biggar pumped a 50-metre penalty through the posts and replacement Kristian Phillips, another teenager, was soon over for a try.
Good hands from the visitors' backs and forwards ended with Phillips crashing over in the right corner despite the best efforts of Glasgow's Thom Evans.
Biggar missed the conversion and that was almost a cue for the Warriors to up their game.
They came right back into the tie, with Parks potting a 32nd minute penalty to overhaul Humphreys (786 points) in the record books.
Although Scotland international Nikki Walker continued to counter well for the Ospreys, their chances of nabbing another try before the interval were limited.
And Glasgow were the ones to end the first half on a high and in the ascendancy. They had wave after wave of attacks, just before Parks' penalty, with Johnnie Beattie stopped only metres short of the whitewash.
Their dander was certainly up though and with a choreographed 39th-minute move, they secured the game's opening try.
A dinked kick from scrum half Mark McMillan into the Ospreys 22 bounced perfectly for the advancing Thom Evans to gather and use his pace to outstrip the cover and dive over.
Parks added the extras, sending Lineen's charges into the break with a 10-8 lead.
But Glasgow were rocked back onto their heels within seven minutes of the resumption. Parks missed a difficult penalty chance from 55 metres but the impressive Biggar made no mistake with a superb drop goal from distance and another penalty - Glasgow 10 Ospreys 14.
Holley threw Jonathan Thomas and James Hook into the mix for the closing 20 minutes as the former champions looked to register their first win over Scottish opposition since September of last year.
Parks and Glasgow were far from finished however. They wrestled back control of the game, helped by the addition of some fresh legs.
Parks landed a timely penalty, 13 minutes from the finish, to close the gap to a single point and then the Ospreys suffered a considerable blow when the busy Nutbrown was yellow carded for persistent infringing at rucks.
Sensing their chance, Glasgow notched their second try when a Parks lobbed the ball over to the left wing where Evans brilliantly collected it to complete his double.
The conversion was wide of the mark but 18-14 looked a decent enough lead with only five minutes remaining.
Or so Glasgow and their supporters thought. The Ospreys came with a final surge and rescued the spoils.
With Glasgow replacement Stevie Swindall in the sin-bin, Hook set up a lineout catch-and-drive attack which ended with Alun Wyn Jones lurching over the try line.
The conversion was tagged on by Hook as a shellshocked Glasgow's record run of six successive league wins came to dramatic end.
The Scots' last league defeat was away to Leinster last March and you have to go back to January for their last reversal at Firhill (the Dragons won 18-16).
Interestingly, it was also only the Ospreys' second win away to Glasgow in the space of five years. |
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| First half timeline |
| 5 | Ospreys | Substitution - K Phillips on for G Owen |
| 14 | Ospreys | Penalty kick - D Biggar |
| 22 | Ospreys | Try - K Phillips |
| 32 | Glasgow Warriors | Penalty kick - D Parks |
| 39 | Glasgow Warriors | Try - M Evans |
| 39 | Glasgow Warriors | Conversion - D Parks |
| 39 | Glasgow Warriors | Try - T Evans |
| Second half timeline |
| 41 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - O Palepoi on for T Barker |
| 41 | Ospreys | Substitution - D Jones on for C Griffiths |
| 44 | Ospreys | Drop kick - D Biggar |
| 47 | Ospreys | Penalty kick - D Biggar |
| 58 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - K Tkachuk on for J Va'a |
| 58 | Ospreys | Substitution - H Bennett on for E Shervington |
| 60 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - S Swindall on for J Beattie |
| 61 | Ospreys | Substitution - J Thomas on for T Smith |
| 64 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - C Gregor on for M McMillan |
| 64 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - H O'Hare on for L Fa'atau |
| 66 | Glasgow Warriors | Substitution - R Jackson on for B Stortoni |
| 67 | Glasgow Warriors | Penalty kick - D Parks |
| 68 | Ospreys | Substitution - J Hook on for D Biggar |
| 71 | Ospreys | Yellow card - J Nutbrown |
| 74 | Glasgow Warriors | Try - M Evans |
| 74 | Glasgow Warriors | Try - T Evans |
| 74 | Ospreys | Substitution - R Webb on for I Gough |
| 77 | Glasgow Warriors | Yellow card - S Swindall |
| 79 | Ospreys | Try - A Jones |
| 79 | Ospreys | Conversion - J Hook |
| 79 | Ospreys | Conversion - J Hook |
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