Lineen proud of Glasgow's fightback
Glasgow Warriors head coach, Sean Lineen, said he was proud of the way his players fought back to earn a 13-13 draw with Montpellier in Pool 3 at the Stade Yves du Manoir.
“There’s a lot of pressure when you’re away in France, and we wanted to do something special. In the second half the guys showed the sort of spirit they’ve got,” Lineen told ERC.
“We played in their half more during the second half, which we hadn’t done in the first half when at times it was a bit suicidal. Some individual skills were shown up at times, but I’m very proud of the team the way that they came back – fantastic team spirit.”
After a disappointing first half display, Glasgow upped the tempo after the break and deserved to draw level in the closing stages with a try by new recruit, Rory Lamont, and some assured place kicking by replacement flyhalf, Duncan Weir.
Montpellier, who brought Francois Trinh-Duc and Mamuka Gorgodze off the bench in the final quarter, were awarded a penalty by referee Andrew Small with the last play of the game, and for a moment it seemed that all Glasgow would come away with was a losing bonus point. However, replacement scrumhalf, Benoit Paillaugue, missed the relatively easy kick and the Scots earned the draw.
“We didn’t start that well, and we didn’t have the ball for a long time,” added Lineen. “So, because we didn’t have the ball for long periods in the first half, when we got it, we wanted to keep it, and we probably tried to play in the wrong places.
“We suffered for that and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves which was frustrating. But looking back at our second half performance, that gives us hope.
“The subs made a difference when they came on. Tom Ryder and Duncan Weir in particular made a huge difference. At 13-13 in the final minute, we panicked a bit. It wasn’t clear exactly what we were trying to do at that point, and we ended up rushing a clearance kick.
“We got a bit confused there, and it’s something we’ve got to tidy up. Again, that’s the sort of pressure you encounter in the Heineken Cup. But every point in Europe counts, and we’re still in there.”
Glasgow are now in second place behind Leinster in Pool 3 on 10 points with their remaining games against the reigning Heineken Cup champions at Firhill, and then away at Bath in round 6.
