Glasgow score bonus-point win over Cardiff in PRO12 thriller
Last Updated: 08/11/15 4:38pm
Cardiff Blues slumped to their sixth successive defeat as Glasgow claimed maximum points with a 35-30 Guinness PRO12 success at the Arms Park.
Gavin Evans crossed in the first half and Rhys Patchell kicked 20 points for the Blues.
But Glasgow overturned an early deficit with tries from Taqele Naiyaravoro, Leone Nakarawa and Ryan Grant before Jonny Gray clinched a bonus-point win.
Stuart Hogg then became the second Glasgow player sin-binned in the second half when he conceded a late penalty try, but the Blues were unable to snatch the victory.
Finn Russell opened the scoring with a penalty inside three minutes after Josh Strauss was twice denied.
But Patchell made the most of a stiff breeze at his back with a succession of penalties to give the Blues a 9-3 after 20 minutes.
However, Alex Cuthbert was penalised for challenging Hogg off the ball to hand Glasgow a chance from close range.
The Warriors' forwards were held up over the line but Grayson Hart's half-break was followed by Nakarawa. The Fijian lock stretched out an arm to score on 26 minutes but Russell missed the chance to take the lead with the conversion.
Blues responded five minutes later with a well-worked try.
Dan Fish was twice involved in the move. The full-back switched direction to release Tom James before his offload to Patchell opened space for Evans to score.
Patchell missed the conversion but used the wind expertly to guide a penalty kick from the halfway line through the posts for a 17-8 lead shortly before the interval.
But there was still time for Tommy Seymour to break clear and Nakarawa handed Naiyaravoro a straight-forward finish to reduce the deficit to 17-15 at the break.
Russell converted and kicked a penalty less than a minute into the second half to give Glasgow the lead for the first time.
Patchell reclaimed the lead for Blues with two penalties to punish Glasgow replacement Ryan Wilson's yellow card.
Once back to full strength, Glasgow again mustered a comeback with two tries in the space of five minutes from their forwards. Prop Grant crashed over before skipper Gray barged over six minutes from time.
Russell kicked his third penalty and the game looked to be over at 35-23.
But Hogg was binned and the visitors conceded a last-minute penalty try for deliberately blocking Patchell's pass to set up a thrilling climax.