Glasgow 13 - 15 Trevisio: Glasgow’s bubble burst by Treviso

Only six days on from Glasgow’s finest hour in defeating European champions Leinster to end a winning streak that covered 28 games and almost two years, the team choked and could not put away a dogged Italian side that burst the Warriors bubble big time.

A few rousing choruses of I Belong to Glasgow followed by an early try looked like making it a night to remember, but the same levels of intensity and commitment that shocked the Irish were just not there and Treviso were able to soak up Glasgow’s limited threat, bully the pack and edge an unexpected victory in a tight match where the lead changed hands five times.

Sean Lineen’s prophecy that the Leinster result would be worth nothing if they did not beat Treviso, came back to haunt him as the Italians rode their luck and closed out a famous win in a Firhill where the sense of anti-climax hung in the air long after the final whistle.

The Warriors kicked off with Duncan Weir in the fly half position and Johnnie Beattie on the bench waiting to get back into action after recovering from a knee injury. Big outside centre Rob Dewey picked up a late groin injury to be replaced by one of last week’s try scorers Peter Horne.

Treviso, who beat Glasgow in Italy last season, shuffled their squad to try and find a winning formula after three straight defeats in the league.

Glasgow had a nervy start, retaining possession well before Weir’s first range-finding punt missed the corner and rolled dead to give the visitors a scrum in the centre where tighthead Ed Kalman was penalised for not binding but the penalty attempt from Kristopher Burton drifted wide in the wind. Weir’s next kick also failed to find touch but it didn’t phase him or the team as Glasgow recovered the ball in their own half, had a go down the left before transferring it to the other touchline where Weir collected it at speed to reach out and touch down in the corner for a try. He added the conversion.

Treviso came straight back with a blistering run by Brendan Williams that took him to within a metre of the line before the defence woke up and halted him. The Italians battled to stay in the 22 and eventually came away with three points after Burton chipped over an easy penalty. Weir then had a chance to cancel it out but a penalty from just inside the opposition’s half had the distance but not the direction.

With 23 minutes gone, Weir tried his luck again, this time from ten metres further back inside his own half but it missed on the other sides of the post.

Two minutes later Treviso’s Burton reduced the deficit with his second penalty after hooker Pat MacArthur was sin binned for a dangerous tackle 40 metres out.

Treviso grew in confidence and sensed vulnerability. They kicked themselves into the red zone and almost forced their way over the line before a loose pass allowed Glasgow to boot the ball upfield and relieve the pressure.

MacArthur returned to the pitch in time to throw in at a lineout in the opposition 22. Glasgow won it but couldn’t make anything of the maul and then were penalised at the set scrum.

With half time approaching, Treviso kicked from one 22 to the other, won the penalty for hands in the ruck and took three points from Burton’s boot to push themselves into the lead for the first time.

After the restart, Glasgow had two five-metre lineouts in quick succession and Treviso’s captain Antonio Pavanello had a sudden rush of blood slapping the ball out of scrum-half Henry Pyrgos’ hands right in front of the posts and the referee. Pavanello went to the bin and Weir kicked the penalty to reclaim the lead.

But Glasgow couldn’t build any momentum and, with the penalty count against them growing by the minute and adding to their frustration, Burton calmly kicked a fourth penalty to nudge ahead again.

Glasgow stuck to their task and brought on Colin Gregor at scrum half to inject some urgency. Skipper Rob Harley broke the gain line and surged into the Italian 22 but the defence was sound and unfussy, taking the tackles, waiting for the mistakes and then kicking clear – basically doing to Glasgow what Glasgow had done to Leinster in Dublin.

Beattie came on into the back row as the game went into the final quarter. Glasgow stepped up the pace and began to put together some impressive passing moves but they couldn’t find a way through the solid Italian defence and gritted their teeth when Weir struck a penalty attempt awkwardly and the ugly flight of the ball carried it wide.

The Italians were patient and disciplined but conceded a penalty on the ten-metre line and Scott Wight, just on the pitch as a replacement for Weir, split the posts with the kick to grab the lead back with ten minutes left on the clock.

Treviso twice kicked their way up to the Glasgow line but couldn’t get the better of the home lineout. Then Burton struck what was to prove the killer blow, almost fumbling the pass from the rear of a ruck before regaining control and landing a perfect drop goal.

Glasgow’s desperation was obvious as they piled into the breakdowns and the crowd grew increasingly restless and resigned. Wight tried a drop goal that missed and a few more minutes ticked by.

Salvation looked to be at hand, but it turned out to be a cruel final twist. Treviso tried to run the ball off the back of a scrum in their own 22 and were done for holding on. Wight was 15 metres out and just to the right of the post. He somehow conspired to screw it wide and after that Glasgow’s fate was sealed.

Glasgow: S Hogg, F Aramburu, P Horne, T Nathan, C Shaw, D Weir, H Pyrgos, R Grant, P McArthur, E Kalman, T Ryder, N Campbell, R Harley, C Fusaro, R Wilson. Subs: F Gillies, G Reid, M Cusack, J Eddie, J Beattie, C Gregor, S Wight, T Seymour.

Treviso: L Ludovico, T Iannone, E Galon, L Morisi, B Williams, K Burton, A Chillon, M Rizzo, D Vidal, P Di Santo,A Pavonello, B Vermaak, M Vosawai, F Minto, M Filipucci. Subs: E Ceccato, M Muccignat, A Allori, V Bernabo, G Padro, W De Waal, S Picone, A Di Bernardo.