Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend last night paid tribute to the players whose defiant performance against Bath brought the side within five points of a first-ever appearance in the quarter-finals of European rugby's premier club competition.

The Warriors were beaten 20-15 by Bath at the Recreation Ground to finish third in Pool 4 behind the English side and Toulouse. Bath now progress to the knockout stages as group winners.

Glasgow rocked the west country side with an early try by Alex Dunbar, with Richie Vernon adding another eight minutes into the second half. However, Bath's forward power was a huge factor throughout and they made it tell as they struck back with two penalty tries.

Montpellier's surprise win over Toulouse had thrown the door open for Glasgow to qualify, but they could not lever a player over the line in their desperate final surge.

"There were only a couple of inches in it," said the rueful Townsend. "We came very close to scoring a try at the end, but Finn [Russell] and Sean [Maitland] were just stopped on the line.

"That would have given us an opportunity to kick the conversion and go through. Finding out afterwards that Montpellier also won was maybe a bit of salt in the wound.

"But I was really proud of the players' efforts. I think we showed a lot of character in how we aspire to play the game and take on opposition with ball in hand."

A back-row injury crisis had forced Glasgow to pick three players out of their regular positions, but the trio - Leone Nakarawa, Fraser Brown and Vernon - came through with credit.

Townsend said: "Fraser Brown were outstanding, one of the best players on the field. We have a big squad of players who can play at that level. I was excited about the back row and wanted him to have a crack at openside."

Having won three times in the Champions Cup's pool stages, Glasgow had already matched their best-ever performance in the competition, and Townsend said he was excited about what the team can achieve in Europe in the future.

"Today showed what a great competition this is," said the coach. "It went to the wire. We have come close against top sides such as Toulouse, Montpellier and Bath and have a good picture of the side we are.

"We had close games against Toulouse and good wins over Montpellier. We were not perfect today and to win these big games you need to be as accurate as possible, but there is a lot of improvement to come from this team."