Pat MacArthur went over for his first try for Glasgow

Warriors led 10-6 at half-time thanks to hooker Pat MacArthur's early converted try and another penalty from fly-half Peter Horne, with two penalties from Ospreys counterpart Sam Davies keeping the visitors within touching distance.

A further penalty from Horne early in the second half suggested it would be more of the same, but a try out of nothing from Ospreys winger Tom Grabham - converted by Davies, who then added a penalty - turned the tables.

However, the Warriors regrouped successfully and two further penalties from Horne secured the win and condemned Ospreys to a second defeat in two weeks in Scotland. They claimed a bonus point but were left two points outside the top four that will contest the Championship play-off.

Glasgow, unbeaten at home in 15 league games stretching back to November 2013, immediately put their guests on the back foot with a dynamic opening on a chilly evening during which both prop Ryan Bevington and left winger Daf Howells had to be replaced.

The visitors - chasing their first win in Glasgow since September 2009 - initially repelled two home surges, but in the 13th minute the Warriors won the fifth scrum of the night, and the first to reach a conclusion.

In the Ospreys' 22, the ball went left before being switched right where winger Nikko Matawalu put in hooker MacArthur for a try converted from far out by Horne.

As the game moved into the second quarter, referee George Clancy began to find Glasgow offences at the breakdown.

Ospreys kicker Davies missed the first pair but, on 26 minutes, his third attempt put Ospreys on the scoreboard.

Two more awards followed, with Davies succeeding with the second to cut Glasgow's lead to 7-6.

The hosts' free-flowing approach continued and the first kickable penalty arrived in the 36th minute, with Horne's success sending Glasgow in at the interval with a four-point buffer.

Just prior to the end of the half, Glasgow lost flanker Tyrone Holmes on a stretcher to be replaced by Will Bordill.

Glasgow opened the second half on the attack, with Horne able to accept the second of two penalty chances.

However, the situation was reversed in a five-minute period.

In the 53rd minute a training-ground move at a line-out on the home 11 sent Ospreys winger Grabham through a hole for a try by the posts that Davies converted to tie the scores, and three minutes later he put his side ahead with a penalty.

Glasgow drew level with Horne's third penalty on 66 minutes and, with five minutes to go, following a flashing run from replacement winger Rory Hughes to the Ospreys line, Horne kicked a simple penalty to restore the home team's lead.

After the match head coach Gregor Townsend praised the team for pulling off what he described as one of the best wins in the past few seasons.

Speaking to glasgowwarrior.org he said: “It was a tremendous win. I thought going into the game that if we managed to win it would be won of our best for a number of seasons.

“The way we played in the first 20 minutes, our quality was really high and our pace and attitude were fantastic.

“Ospreys are a very good side; they kept on playing and kept on competing for contact so we had to dig deep to get the win.

“It shows our depth, Fraser Lyle and Ali Price were outstanding at the heart of a lot of good rugby in the first half.”

Glasgow now face important matches in the next few weeks against Munster and Leinster and Townsend knows the importance of them in the context of their season.

“It's very tight at the top, we play Munster in our next game and Leinster in three games time so we need to make sure we are still up there after the RBS 6 Nations.”

Peter Horne kicked an impressive four penalties and a conversion in the game and Townsend was very impressed by his performance and work rate.

He added: “He did very well, he put a lot of pace into the game in the first half and had a brilliant ruck clear leading to Pat MacArthur’s try.

“He's been really professional and hard working for the last two weeks and over the last few seasons."

Skipper Alastair Kellock said: “That was really tough. We knew the Ospreys would make it a hugely physical match but our guys stuck in. We made it hard for ourselves but it was a simply brilliant win.

“It is always a challenge when so many of our players go away on Scotland duty but it was a fantastic result.”