However, there was a sense of inevitability about the late collapse as unforced errors and poor discipline punctuated the Warriors' performance throughout the game.
"It's just massive disappointment," said Warriors veteran Robert Harley in The Herald. "There was a lot of effort and we've come close to getting a huge away win, but our discipline let us down and we're going home with a loss instead. The margins are thin.
"We are talking about the whole squad with that," he continued. "The last couple of minutes was emblematic of what we've done through the game, with their tries coming from us putting pressure on ourselves, from not exiting well, from cheap offsides which have put us back defending our own line again.
"A lot of credit to Benetton for being clinical and taking their chances, but the number of times we gave away penalties and invited them into our 22 and onto our goal-line to attack has cost us in the end.
"I think that's something there needs to be an emphasis on, and we need to make shifts as a squad, so that we read the referee but also make sure that we are half a foot behind the ruck."
Warriors conceded 12 penalties throughout the 80 minutes - only two more than Benetton - and over the course of the season they have conceded 59 penalties which is not as many as Edinburgh, Zebre, Cardiff Blues or the Dragons. Rather it's the timing and areas of the park where these penalties are being conceded that has cost Danny Wilson's side.
"It is things like making a huge effort to roll away from contact, and I gave away a penalty in this game for a high tackle, which is just down to sloppy technique," added Harley. So, it's about improving technique and having that ethos where we are giving ourselves that margin for error and showing referees that we are working to stay legal. We need to demand better. We don't want to give referees these decisions to make."