Glasgow Warriors once again fell at the feet of their bogey team, Newport Gwent Dragons, at Firhill this evening.

The Dragons now have the best record at Firhill of any other team in the Magners League, winning on their last five visits to Glasgow. The Warriors will be hoping that comes to an end when the two sides meet again at Firhill in two weeks’ time, this time in the Heineken Cup.

A losing bonus point was little consolation for a furious head coach Sean Lineen: “I’m completely and utterly gutted,” he said after the match. “We didn’t play to the game-plan in the first half and we showed a lack of overall composure. It was a bad day at the office.

“The game-plan was really simple, but all of a sudden we became the Harlem Globetrotters. We never tried any of that in training during the week.

“Conceding two set-piece tries is clearly not good enough.”

The Warriors settled some early nerves with a penalty inside the first minute of play from stand-off Dan Parks.

However, the Dragons fought back with a penalty, a try and a conversion from replacement stand-off James Arlidge all within the space of nine minutes.

Arlidge’s opportunist interception came as he watched Warriors fullback Bernardo Stortoni wind-up a long pass out wide. He snatched the ball in mid air and crossed unopposed. He converted his own try.

Glasgow then struck back with a try from winger Thom Evans whose performance was one of the more positive points the squad can decipher from next week’s debrief. Parks hit the right post with his conversion attempt.

The Dragons crossed for their second try shortly before the end of the first half. A neat chip over the top of the Warriors back-line caught winger Hefin O’hare sitting flat. Richard Fussell collected the bounce and offloaded to Rory Sidey who crossed the line.

Dan Parks slotted a late penalty to claw Glasgow back to within four points.

Half-time score: Warriors 11 – 15 Dragons

Having set up their last try of the first half, Fussell touched down for a score of his own just 12 minutes in the second with a set move straight from the training field. Arlidge converted.

Parks then put six more points on the board with a penalty and a drop goal before an Arlidge penalty held the Warriors at arms length, or eight points for that matter.

Parks’ final penalty of the night saw Glasgow just five points away from a draw, and just seven points from breaking their bogey-team blues.

However, despite consistent battering of the Dragons line in the final ten minutes, the Warriors couldn’t penetrate their defence.

Robertson Trust Man of the Match: John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors)

Glasgow Warriors: Bernardo Stortoni; Hefin O’Hare, Max Evans, Graeme Morrison, Thom Evans; Dan Parks, Sam Pinder; Justin Va’a, Fergus Thomson, Moray Low, Opeta Palepoi, Alastair Kellock CAPTAIN, James Eddie, John Barclay, Kelly Brown
Substitutes: Dougie Hall, Kevin Tkachuk, Dan Turner, Richie Vernon, Andrew Henderson, Colin Gregor, Ruaridh Jackson

Newport Gwent Dragons: Jason Tovey; Gareth Wyatt, Rory Sidey, Rhodri Gomer Davies, Richard Fussell; Shaun Connor, Wayne Evans; Adam Black, Tom Willis CAPTAIN, Rhys Thomas, Andrew Hall, Luke Charteris, Hoani Macdonald, Lewis Evans, Danny Lydiate
Substitutes: Steve Jones, Nigel Hall, Adam Jones, Jamie Ringer, Ashley Smith, James Arlidge, Tom Isaacs