Full match report from the Liberty Stadium.
It was an afternoon to forget at the Liberty Stadium as the Ospreys were comprehensively beaten by Guinness PRO14 Conference A leaders Glasgow.
The half-time deficit was just eight points, Sam Davies kicking two penalties in response to tries from Glasgow half-backs Adam Hastings and George Horne, both converted by Hastings.
Still well in the game at the break, the hosts were blown away as the visitors took full advantage of Ospreys errors and inaccuracy to secure a bonus point within 10 minutes of the restart, running in five second half tries.
The Ospreys started brightly enough, returning wingers Hanno Dirksen and Jeff Hassler both getting an early chance to stretch their legs as the hosts applied early pressure that eventually saw Davies slotting over a third minute penalty to give his team the lead.
That drew a positive response from Glasgow who should really have levelled things with a simple penalty inside the 22 in front of the posts. They opted to go to the corner instead of taking the three points, however, the Ospreys did well to disrupt the maul, forcing a knock on that allowed them to clear.
Dirksen then almost marked his first appearance of the season with what would have been a stunning try inside 11 minutes, the winger involved twice as the Ospreys countered from close to their own line. Ashley Beck and Joe Thomas carried well, only for Dirksen to be hauled down inches short when an inside return pass to Thomas may have been the better option.
Glasgow took the lead minutes later from a lineout 20m out. Although the ball went to ground, fly half Hastings was alert, scooping up the loose ball then twisting away from two onrushing defenders. He found himself in acres of space and galloped over unchecked to score under the posts before converting his own try,
Davies then had the chance to add three points, Glasgow penalised for not rolling away, only to see his kick from 42m out come back off the upright.
At the other end, the Ospreys did well to keep their line intact as Glasgow again went to the corner and this time got their maul rumbling foward. Finding their path to the line halted, Glasgow opted for a series of close range drives, Scott Cummings eventually held up over the line.
The visitors maintained the pressure from the resulting scrum and, after a succession of close shaves it was scrum half Horne who wriggled over. Hastings converted and the scoreboard read 3-14 with 29 minutes gone.
Glasgow made a hash of their exit from the restart, playing themselves into trouble, and were penalised for crossing, allowing Davies to immediately cut the deficit by three.
Poor defence in midfield allowed Leonardo Sarto to drift through almost unnoticed, only for some great recovery work from Dirksen and Davies to stop him scoring.
Horne then had a straightforward looking kick for three points that drifted to the right of the posts, which meant there was an eight point difference at the break.
HALF-TIME: OSPREYS 6 GLASGOW 14
The Ospreys needed a positive start to the second half and it looked promising as they probed left and right, keeping the ball alive, only to lose patience as Davies put a hopeful punt forward, handing possession over to Glasgow.
It proved costly as within seconds they were back under their own posts, the bounce of the ball from Hastings’ clearance beating Evans as Sarto’s swinging leg helped it on. Having come so close in the first half, second row Cummings was eventually left with a simple finish for a try that went unconverted.
Within minutes Glasgow had the bonus point wrapped up, the fourth try coming from nowhere as hooker George Turner intercepted 40m out to race through for the simplest of scores. The conversion from Hastings meant that Glasgow were now 20 points clear with over half an hour still to play.
That gap was soon 27, Horne going over for his second of the game after Lelia Masaga had punched a hole in the Ospreys defence, powerfully going through the middle. Hastings again added the extras.
With Glasgow content to soak up Ospreys pressure, and the hosts struggling to make any real headway despite considerable possession, the game was drifting its way through the final quarter with little to warm up the Liberty faithful.
It was the visitors who scored again with just three minutes to play, the Ospreys trying to run it from deep only for Brandon Thomson to intercept James King’s pass to Hassler on the 22m line, swap passes with Lee Jones and then touch down, man of the match Hastings’ conversion bringing up the 40 points for Glasgow.
With time up on the clock the Ospreys were pressing for a consolation score only for a Sam Davies pass on the Glasgow 22 to be picked out of the air by Sarto, who raced the length of the field to score, Hasting’s rounding the afternoon off with his sixth conversion of the game.