Harlequins claimed two points from Friday evening's match as they fell to a narrow defeat away to Gloucester Rugby.

Sat level in the Gallagher Premiership table, the two points from the defeat against a strong Gloucester team may prove pivotal come the end of the season.

It was a rough start for Tabai Matson's men, losing flanker James Chisholm to a yellow card for ten minutes in the third minute, and conceding a try via a Gloucester rolling maul in the fifth, courtesy of hooker Seb Blake.

Despite the one-man disadvantage in the pack, Quins displayed their gritty nature soon after with a mauling try of their own, sending number eight Tom Lawday over to level the scores as Tommy Allan countered Santiago Carreras' conversion.

Undeniably a super strength of this Gloucester team, a deadly driving maul was presented to the Quins defence once again in the 17th minute. In the right corner once again, the home team made slow but effective progress, earning a penalty before sending a Crossfield kick for win Ollie Thorley to win in the air. Despite the attentions of Nick David and Cadan Murley, Carreras slotted another touchline conversion to restore his team's seven-point lead.

Half-time presented a bleak outlook for Harlequins supporters as two lost lineout throws deep in Gloucester territory saw scoring opportunities fall flat, while the home side displayed just why they top the breakdown stats in the league this year.

However, Quins seemed galvanised after the break as they took the game to the Cherry and Whites.

On the occasion of his record-breaking 352nd appearance for Quins, Danny Care was the man to drag Quins back into the contest.

The talismanic halfback sniped to poach ball at the back of a Gloucester scrum within their own 22, quickly putting Quins in prime attacking position. After heavy runners took Quins to the line, possession was slingshot left to find in-form wing Cadan Murley, who cantered in to claim a second Harlequins try. Sadly, no conversion meant Gloucester held a two-point lead.

A third try for the day in the 61st minute saw Harlequins take the lead for the first time ot the day, with Impact Player Sam Riley punching his way over from short range after Will Edwards and Dino Lamb tore through the Gloucester defence down the right side of the pitch to secure field position.

Allan's conversion took Quins to a 14-19 up until ten minutes left on the clock.

Gloucester found their rhythm against a tired Quins defence in the final ten minutes, with Santiago Carreras and Louis Rees-Zammit proving their international pedigree as they burst through the Harlequins defence to put their side through to a 28-19 lead that would secure their victory.

Determined not to leave empty-handed, Quins kicked a late penalty to the corner, with a driving maul taking the Londoners to the line before sending one-out runners to the task. Impact Player and Harlequins Academy product Matas Jurevicius was the man to cross the whitewash for his first-ever Premiership try, with Allan adding the extras to secure two points from a hard-fought fixture against Gloucester.

Final score: Gloucester 28 – 26 Harlequins