You really couldn't take your eyes off it. What this game might have lacked in outright quality it more than made up with raw, heart-stopping drama.

At the end, Glasgow were out of Europe, but their side, cobbled together from a dressing room in the midst of an injury crisis, had performed heroically to push Bath right to the wire.

The English side march on and into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, Pool 4 winners after Toulouse lost to Montpellier in France. But they were heaving sighs of relief in the west country last night, for they got there only by the skin of their teeth. Glasgow might have been outmuscled, conceding two penalty tries in the second half, but their courage throughout was beyond question.

With their makeshift back row, they competed astonishingly well for the ball. Fraser Brown, the hooker who was playing at openside, was outstanding, while Richie Vernon put in a power of work on his return to the no 8 berth. There were many in the crowd who thought that Leone Nakarawa, he of the adhesive hands, was a candidate for man of the match.

Ruaridh Jackson made a spectacular debut here six seasons ago, but Finn Russell, his successor at fly-half, announced himself rather less auspiciously when he sent the first kick-off straight into touch.

That gave Bath a scrum on halfway, and that soon became a penalty when the Glasgow set-piece collapsed. However, the Warriors cleared the danger when the English side opted to go for touch.

It was a worrying portent for the knots of Glasgow fans scattered around the picturesque ground, but their mood was to change suddenly a few minutes later. Having won a lineout on the left side near the Bath 22, Glasgow worked a neat move off the tail to get DTH van der Merwe onto the ball. Alex Dunbar came steaming up, shook off his tackler and just carried on to claim the first try.

Russell clipped over the conversion and the anxieties of the home supporters, so buoyant in the build-up, only deepened when Kyle Eastmond, their England international centre, limped off a few moments later.

Bath's injured pride was probably more of a danger to Glasgow, and the west country side began to dominate the tight battle. However, Glasgow's 7-0 lead was still intact at the end of the first quarter, George Ford having skewed a penalty wide and the Warriors having stolen possession when Bath set up a lineout for a driving maul.

Yet Glasgow also ran dangerously as well, with Sean Maitland making a couple of conspicuously impressive intrusions from full-back. Indeed, they came tantalisingly close to adding a second try in the 25th minute when Dunbar made a sizzling break through the middle, setting up a series of rucks that only ended when Glasgow knocked-on in contact.

In the scrum, Mike Cusack struggled against Paul James and Bath harvested penalties with ease. Just before the half-hour mark, they used one such award to usher play down to the Glasgow 22, then earned another penalty when Glasgow were pinged for interfering with the jump. Ford duly kicked the three points to get his side off the mark.

More worryingly, when Glasgow won a scrum soon afterwards they caved in under Bath pressure and turned over the ball. By now, Glasgow were struggling to get any possession, and their lead was cut to one point after 34 minutes when Ford landed his second penalty of the game. They took no more damage on the scoreboard before half-time and headed for the dressing room with their noses still just in front.

Given their set-piece issues, it came as no great surprise when Jon Welsh and Jerry Yanuyanutawa took the places of Cusack and Gordon Reid at the start of the second half. Not that any improvement was immediately obvious, for the Glasgow pack hit the deck at the very first scrum, giving Bath yet another penalty.

But Glasgow overcame that difficulty to collect a sensational try eight minutes after the break. The move began near their own 10-metre line, and it left Bath all at sea as the ball whizzed through Warrior's hands. It ended with Richie Vernon crashing over in the right corner, although referee John Lacey kept Glasgow waiting as he reviewed footage of some suspect footwork by Nakarawa before ruling that the score was good.

Russell could not convert from so far out, and the miss proved critical to Glasgow losing the lead four minutes later.

From a lineout on the left, Bath put in a punishing drive, Glasgow collapsed the maul and Lacey awarded the penalty try. Ford's conversion put Bath ahead for the first time.

Again, the omens looked dark for Glasgow, as Al Kellock was yellow-carded in the same passage of play. And yet, they actually got their noses back in front when Russell landed a penalty in the 56th minute.

Yet this compelling drama still had twists in its plot. Glasgow somehow kept Bath out for the 10 minutes they were short-handed, and Russell and Maitland performed wonders in defence when they held Bath full-back Anthony Watson up over the line.

However, that position gave Bath a five metre scrum, which was only ever going to end one way. The Glasgow pack disintegrated and Bath had their second penalty try of the game.

Yet still Glasgow fought to get back in front. Tommy Seymour went close in the right corner and Sean Maitland on the left.

For the last few minutes they were camped in the Bath 22, stretching every sinew for what would have been a history-making score. It was not to be, but they left Bath last night with their heads held high and the respectful applause of the crowd ringing in their ears.