Glasgow 21-10 Lyon: Warrors keep alive quarter-final hopes
Last Updated: 15/12/18 4:03pm
Glasgow Warriors beat Lyon 21-10 in a game in which a bitter wind played a huge part as the home side maintained their hopes of qualification for the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Using the wind well, Glasgow led 18-3 at the break thanks to a brace of tries from winger Niko Matawalu sandwiching a pair of penalties from Adam Hastings, who also converted the second try.
Late pressure from Lyon produced a penalty from Jean-Marc Doussain, and with the wind they pulled back a try from Pierre-Louis Barassi which was converted by Doussain.
A penalty from Hastings - who was later subject to a straight arm to the head from Etienne Oosthuizen which resulted in a red card from referee Ben Whitehouse - saw Glasgow home.
Lyon kicked off into a bitter wind blowing straight down the park, and before a minute had passed their tryline had been crossed.
Having fielded a kick, Glasgow fly-off Hastings put in a powerful hand-off and headed up field. When he was brought down by opposite number Doussain, supporting full-back Stuart Hogg found winger Matawalu who scored an unconverted try.
Referee Whitehouse penalised Lyon repeatedly at the scrum, and Glasgow used these to keep play close to the visitors' line, with Hastings slotting successive penalties in the 13th and 18th minute to put his side 11-0 in front.
Hogg was using the wind to his favour to keep Lyon pinned back, and good handling allowed him to put in Matawalu for his second try, with Hastings converting this time.
With 32 minutes gone Lyon put together their first sustained handling attack; a half break by centre Alexis Palisson sent Thibaut Regard to the line before Hogg knocked him into touch.
Sustained Lyon pressure followed, as did a series of penalties for the visitors, with the TMO twice consulted and Glasgow flanker Callum Gibbins eventually sin-binned for foul play.
Glasgow resisted that passage but the half ended with more Lyon pressure as Doussain kicked a penalty that made it 18-3 to the Warriors at half-time.
Lyon were soon back in the home half; a long passage of possession ended with centre Barassi scoring in the corner after a run by winger Palisson broke the Glasgow defence, with Doussain converting to make it an eight-point game.
Hasting slotted his third penalty shortly after the hour mark to dampen Lyon's chances of a fightback, and any surviving French hope ended when Oosthuizen was given his marching orders for an elbow to the head of Hastings with ten minutes remaining.
