Gloucester produced a valiant fightback but ultimately fell just short in their European Champions Cup defeat by 14-man Montpellier in France.

Benoit Paillaugue kicked the hosts in front before tries from Jan Serfontein, Caleb Timu and Nemani Nadolo.

Callum Braley's first-half try gave Gloucester hope, which grew after the break when Jacques du Plessis was sent off for an elbow on Gerbrandt Grobler.

Matt Banahan and Joe Simpson both crossed but the hosts held on.

Defeat for the Cherry and Whites means they stay bottom of Pool Five, while Montpellier move up to second, four points behind leaders Toulouse.

The visitors struggled to match the French side's intensity early on and Serfontein got the ball rolling for the hosts as he caught Yvan Reilhac's kick through to apply the finishing touch to a fluid move from the backs.

Gloucester, who made 11 changes from their opening defeat by Toulouse, played with confidence and freedom as they looked to throw the ball around from deep in their own half, but they caused their own downfall for the hosts' second try.

After losing their own put-in at a scrum five metres from their line, Montpellier number eight Timu picked up the loose ball to barrel over.

Gloucester continued to play an expansive game and when Lloyd Evans burst through to feed Braley back inside, they had their reward and a glimmer of hope.

Nadolo had a score chalked off after a TMO review before scoring a legitimate try moments later, but the hosts opened the door for their visitors after the break when Du Plessis was dismissed for swinging his elbow at opposite number Grobler.

Banahan ran an incisive line to reduce the deficit from close range but the boot of Paillaugue, who kicked 15 points in the match, kept Gloucester at bay despite replacement Simpson scoring his third try of the competition.

'There was a lot of illegal stuff'

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann: "In the scrums there was a grey area and I felt there was a lot of illegal stuff from Montpellier which was obviously missed. They got away with it.

"I felt their tight-head was angling in. From where we sat he was never straight and obviously the scrum is going to look dominant there and it's a pity it wasn't taken in by the officials.

"We tried to fix it and it got better in the second half, but the reality is they got away with things in the first half.

"We let ourselves down on execution, but it definitely wasn't down to a lack of effort. The players are disappointed, but the one thing I saw was unity on the field.

"We'll probably have to win all four games now and that's without looking at the other results. The club is proud to be part of this world-class competition and we're not happy we've lost."

Teams

Montpellier: Immelman; Reilhac, Vincent, Serfontein, Nadolo; Bouthier, Paillaugue; Fichten, B Du Plessis, Chilachava, J Du Plessis, Mikautadze, Ouedraogo, Camara, Timu,

Replacements: Delhommel, Nariashvili, Haouas, Devergie, Sanga, Vincent, Darmon, Willemse

Gloucester: Woodward; Rees-Zammit, Harris, Twelvetrees, Thorley; Evans, Braley; Hohneck, Fourie, Balmain, Craig, Grobler, Polledri, Kriel, Clarke

Replacements: Gleave, Rapava Ruskin, Ford-Robinson, Ackermann, Ludlow, Simpson, Atkinson, Banahan