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December 11, 2009

Glasgow Warriors 33 - 11 Gloucester

Heineken Cup match played at Firhill on Friday December 11th 2009 | 6 comments

23 points came from the boot of man-of-the-match Dan Parks
Glasgow rattled up 27 points in the first half on their way to a convincing 33-11 win over Gloucester to keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Heineken Cup.

A fiery opening shook the visitors and Dan Parks slotted two penalties in the opening five minutes.

The Glasgow fly-half then went from hero to villain as a skewed kick gave Gloucester their only field position of the opening 10 minutes and Nicky Robinson opened the scoring for the visitors with a simple penalty.

Glasgow kept the game deep in the opposition half for Parks to land penalty number three but Robinson reduced the margin two minutes later with his second penalty.

Parks replied again before another misplaced kick allowed Gloucester to attack and set up Charlie Sharples for the first try of the game.

Parks confirmed the dominance of the Glasgow forwards three minutes later with his fifth penalty and, eight minutes from half-time, a sparkling crossfield move saw Max Evans cross for a home try.

The break did not come quickly enough for a beleaguered Gloucester, who conceded try number two when Parks' long pass found full-back Bernie Stortoni to romp in for the score.

The conversion took Parks' first-half tally to 17 points and he made it 20 just three minutes into the second half with another penalty.

Gloucester tried to hit back but the home side soaked up all the pressure with flanker Tim Buxton and lock Dave Attwood driven back by ferocious Glasgow defence.

Kelly Brown and Richie Vernon led a couple of breakouts but Glasgow were pinned inside their own half, although they were content to keep Gloucester well away from the danger zone.

With 10 minutes left, Glasgow again started to put pace on the ball as Gloucester ran out of steam and ideas and man-of-the-match Parks banged over his seventh penalty.

Glasgow coach Sean Lineen believes his side's win over Gloucester was a measure of the self-belief he has fostered at the club.

"The team really showed the belief they have in each other and we showed a lot of patience particularly in the second half when they exerted a bit of pressure on us and we managed to keep our discipline," Sean said.

"We did let them back in a bit after half-time but we held our line and some of our defending was outstanding but we have worked hard on that area and the players knew exactly what they had to do.

"This is an important part of the season for us and we have to stay focused and we know that when we go to Gloucester next week they will be hurting and it will be hard.

"We know how intimidating it can be there and it will be intense but we will enjoy the win tonight then build towards what will be a really tough one in the rematch."

Referee Christophe Berdos (France)
Attendance 4,462
Man of the Match Dan Parks
Team
1
Jon Welsh
2
Dougie Hall
3
Moray Low
4
Dan Turner
5
Richie Gray
6
Kelly Brown
7
John Barclay
8
Richie Vernon
9
Chris Cusiter
10
Dan Parks
11
Thom Evans
12
Graeme Morrison
13
Max Evans
14
Peter Murchie
15
Bernardo Stortoni
Sub
Fergus Thomson
Sub
Kevin Tkachuk
Sub
Ed Kalman
Sub
Tim Barker
Sub
Calum Forrester
Sub
Mark McMillan
Sub
Colin Gregor
Sub
DTH van der Merwe
Match Substitutions
Off On
Peter Murchie DTH van der Merwe
Off On
Jon Welsh Kevin Tkachuk
Off On
Chris Cusiter Mark McMillan
Off On
Richie Vernon Calum Forrester
Off On
Dougie Hall Fergus Thomson
Off On
Dan Parks Colin Gregor
Off On
Moray Low Ed Kalman
Scorers
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Max Evans Try 
Bernardo Stortoni Try 
Dan Parks Conversion
Dan Parks Penalty
Dan Parks Penalty
Posted by Sir Tristram on December 12, 2009 05:18 AM | Reply to this comment

Fancy that, Parks is human, and made some mistakes in the game. Yet he battled on, and persisted. All champions are made that way. Seems that the whole Glasgow team are doing the same.

Posted by Kazakh Warrior on December 12, 2009 06:37 AM | Reply to this comment

Wow - great result. Well done Glasgow - belief is there.

And the understanding that it will not come without 100% commitment to every aspect of the game.

Well done to the Coaching Team for sticking it out, and persisting with the "create competition within the squad" ethos.

To be honest, it doesn't matter whether we get through to the quarters of the Heineken - it just matters that we win every game from now on. If we do that - or get close - the rewards will come.

There is definitely an appetite for success now. Well done boys!

Posted by Alistair Hutton on December 12, 2009 09:24 AM | Reply to this comment

Anyone else impressed at the total rugby we played in the first half. I think every player from 4 - 15 stepped in at first receiver, Dan only stepped in at fly-half when we got into their 22 and he delivered those 2 fabulous cutout passes for the tries.

Posted by sunday5 on December 12, 2009 10:05 AM | Reply to this comment

Richie Vernon had a good game I thought. If I were Beattie I'd be nervous...

Posted by RJG on December 12, 2009 10:32 AM | Reply to this comment

Fabulous result, excellent game, great performance - all the better to do it in front of such a large crowd.

Just wanted to post that my son Luca, who is only 4, was asked to be the mascot last night and had a fantastic time. We were looked after by Justin Va'a and Rob Dewey who were both absolute gentlemen, and a credit to the team and the sport.

Thanks to everyone at the club for a fantastic night. Looking forward to the Embra game already.

Posted by liviwarrior on December 12, 2009 01:10 PM | Reply to this comment

Fantastic performance guys. Great result for the Captain 2 wins out of 2 . I hope Andy Robinson was watching Dan's performance (except for the two slight mis-kicks!). Game was that enjoyable I didn't even feel the cold. Good to see such a large crowd there as well adding to the atmosphere especially on such a cold night. Let's see them there for all the home games. One small complaint - someone needs to sort out the entry at the turnstiles - bit of a sham!

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