GLASGOW Caley's latest attempt to claim a major Welsh club scalp on principality soil failed last night at the Brewery Field.

The hopes of coach Richie Dixon's team were high after their weekend win over Cross Keys at Hughenden, but they only rose to the occasion in patches.

All too often, when they did look like gaining the upper hand, promising lead-up work was spoiled by slipshod passing and poor ball-retention in contact. In short, the same old shortcomings.

Dixon couldn't hide his frustrations. He said: ''It was a much more committed and gutsy display than many we have had down here - but it was our own silly, unforced errors which cost us dearly.

''We slipped up badly three times in the first half when we were attacking - and each time they grabbed the ball and scored. Take away these three tries and it was a pretty even contest.

''It was about the first time that most of our guys showed what is required to compete against the best of the Welsh teams.''

The Reds recovered from a shaky start to grab tries either side of the interval, but they had to bow to the home outfit's pace, power and superior passing skills.

After Bridgend scored from an unnecessary prenalty, Reds replied positively and full-back Mark McKenzie had a quick opportunity to level the issue again. His penalty from wide on the left was well-struck, but the ball drifted wide of the target.

Bridgend were still holding the upper hand, with Tommy Hayes keeping them at bay on several occasions.

But soon the floodgates began to open. First, flanker Jamie Ringer hurtled through under the crossbar with the Reds defence slow to react in the wake of a tapped-penalty, then lock Tim Collier was driven over after Warlow had made 60-metres with a touchfinder.

Caley got off the mark in 28 minutes with a straightforward McKenzie kick, only to see Bridgend claim their third touchdown almost immediately afterwards. Jonno Stuart pulled off a brave tackle on Chris Stephens just short of the line and Tongan Josh Tomalolo was perfectly positioned to take the scoring feed.

McKenzie again interrupted their flow with a penalty, but the resistance didn't last long. Try No.4 came from the other South Sea islander, Mala Molitika, with Warlow slotting his third conversion from a tricky angle.

Glasgow earned a glimmer of hope in stoppage time before the break when Roly Reid crashed over at the end of a charge featuring White and Jon Petrie. It came as they ran a penalty after Tomalolo was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Stuart and McKenzie added the extra points.

Even better was to come for Caley just two minutes after the restart as winger James Craig sprinted at least 80 metres to give McKenzie a formality of a conversion.

The Welshmen were soon back in attacking mood and Warlow clipped over his second penalty and Molitika barged over for his second touchdownt.

Gareth Jones and Adrian Durston added two more scores, one converted by Warlow, with winger Jon Steel bagging a late consolation try for Caley, goaled by McKenzie.

Scoring sequence: 3-0, 10-0, 15-0, 15-3, 22-3, 22-6, 29-6, 29-13 (HT). 29-20, 32-20, 37-20, 42-20, 42-27, 49-27.

Scorers: Bridgend - Tries: Ringer 16, Collier 24, Tomalolo 30, Molitika 35, 55, Jones 67, Durston 80. Cons: Warlow 16, 30, 35, 80. Pens: Warlow 4, 48.

Glasgow Caley - Tries: Reid 40, Craig 42, Steel 79. Con: McKenzie 40, 42, 79. Pens: McKenzie 28, 34.

Bridgend: A Durston; G Jones, J Tomalolo, J Funnell, S Hill; C Warlow, H Harries (capt); R Price, C Ferris, L Mustoe, K Collier, C Stephens, R Bryan, M Molitika, J Ringer. Replacements: C Clapham for Collier 50, A Griffiths for Price 55, A Joy for Ferris 70, D Niblo for Molitika 73, Collier for Stephens 76.

Glasgow Caledonians: M McKenzie; J Craig, A Bulloch, J Stuart, J Steel; T Hayes, C Black; D Hilton, G Bulloch (capt), G McIlwham, J White, S Griffiths, R Reid, G Simpson, J Petrie. Replacements: S Campbell for Griffiths 61, G Flockhart for Petrie 61, L Harrison for McIlwham 69, G Scott for G Bulloch 79.

Referee: G Simmonds (Cardiff).