Time running out as Bristol let chance slip
THE game is almost up for Bristol as they blew a golden opportunity to stay in the race to avoid relegation.
Against very ordinary opponents, Bristol dominated the first half but created nothing with missed penalties and inaccurate lineout throwing not helping their cause.
They also failed to take advantage of a sin-binning for Tom Marshall, but despite all these deficiencies were still in contention until the 56th minute when they gifted Gloucester their crucial second try.
This latest defeat sees Bristol remain bottom of the Premiership pile, seven points adrift with just four games left.
The remaining fixtures include clashes against the league’s current top three in Wasps, Exeter and Saracens.
Bristol’s interim-coach, Mark Tainton, said: “We had a number of good field positions but we just couldn’t finish it off.
“Gloucester defended well but we conceded a soft try in the first half and they kicked their goals.
“We can’t hide away from it but after speaking to the players, we are going to try and fight right to the end.”
It was Gloucester’s first away success in the Premiership since mid September and they were just about worth the win because they possessed a touch of class behind the scrum.
Half-backs Billy Burns and Will Heinz outshone their counterparts while Marshall and Jonny May eventually displayed their attacking talent.
Burns had put Gloucester ahead but crucially Jason Woodward missed with two early penalty attempts for the hosts before being replaced as kicker by Billy Searle.
Searle was on-target with his first kick but Gloucester soon regained the lead with a try from Charlie Sharples, who was on the field as a temporary replacement for May.
Well-judged passing from Richard Hibbard and Paddy McAllister created the opportunity for Sharples, who had just enough room to evade Searle and the touchline to squeeze over.
Burns converted before the game became increasingly disjointed with frequent injuries causing considerable disruption.
Burns and Searle exchanged penalties, the latter after Marshall was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on but Gloucester still held an undeserved 13-6 half-time lead.
David Lemi became another injury casualty when he didn’t reappear for the second half before Bristol suffered a further setback when they failed to score in Marshall’s absence.
Searle kicked a third penalty before Bristol carelessly conceded a second try which knocked the stuffing out of them. A clever kickthrough from Heinz should have been steered into touch by Luke Arscott but he failed to do so and May was on hand to pick up and send Burns over.
Then Lewis Ludlow finished off a line-out drive before Mark Crumpton crashed over from close range for a consolation score.
However, Gloucester saved the best until last when they counterattacked from behind their own line with Marshall making the running to leave May with a 55-metre run-in for the bonus point try and a flattering margin of victory.