Glasgow's Richie Gray looks for support during the clash at the Stade Ernest Wallon © Getty Images

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Matches: Toulouse 36 - 10 Glasgow

Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup

Teams: Glasgow | Toulouse

Glasgow Warriors head coach Sean Lineen admitted his side were second best to one of Europe's 'big guns' in the wake of their 36-10 Heineken Cup loss at the hands of Toulouse.

Lineen's men trailed 14-3 at half time after Maxime Medard and Virgil Lacombe crossed for the hosts. But a try from flying Dutchman DTH van der Merwe fired them back within touching distance at 14-10. But Toulouse took no prisoners as they scored three tries in the last 25 minutes to leapfrog Wasps into top spot in Pool Six and condemn Glasgow to their third straight European loss, leaving them 11 points behind the English side with only a maximum of 10 left to play for.

Glasgow had endured a nightmare in the build-up to the game, which was postponed more than 75 hours after delays and missing luggage caused chaos. After such a disrupted build-up to the game Lineen was pleased with the way his players responded.

"It was a tough game, we were in it for 50 minutes and the boys worked hard but the set-piece wasn't strong enough," said Lineen. "Playing with 14 men for 20 minutes also had a big effect on the game. A team in control of the set-piece has the momentum. But there were some fantastic performances after a challenging five days. It's had a huge impact.

"To be on the runway for six hours, told our bags were onboard when we set off, then we arrived and our bags were not there, any team in that situation would have done the same thing. I can understand Toulouse's frustration but we have to look after our players.

"We have worked hard, dug deep and made the right decisions but unfortunately we weren't strong enough. But that's where we are - they're the big guns and we're the small team."

But Lineen remains adamant that his side can enter crunch back-to-back Magners League encounters with Scottish rivals Edinburgh with confidence despite the loss. "Johnny Barclay, Rob Harley, Richie Grey were all great and Max Evans and Graeme Morrison were outstanding. We can take great heart from that.

"What's happened will again affect our preparation, obviously we are getting back late and then it's Christmas. But that's the way it is and we have to be as professional as we can ahead of important games versus Edinburgh."