Cardiff left Glasgow empty-handed with the race for a place in the BKT United Rugby Championship Playoffs set to go into the final round.
The Blue & Blacks had not triumphed in the Scottish city since 2013, and that goes on after a near full-strength Warriors side bounced back with ruthless efficiency following a bruising few weeks.
Glasgow crossed for three first half tries courtesy of Jack Dempsey, Kyle Steyn and Johnny Matthews, with Josh Adams responding for Cardiff.
And it was more of the same in the second-half with Matthews completing his brace before Danny Southworth gave his side a glimmer of hope.
That was quickly extinguished when Patrick Schickerling powered over and Kyle Rowe burst through Cardiff’s defence to take Warriors score to 40.
The defeat leaves Cardiff looking at other results this weekend, with Ulster up against DHL Stormers and Connacht facing Munster tomorrow, before the final round fixture against DHL Stormers at Cardiff Arms Park next Friday.
Cardiff had early opportunities to put points on the board but opted for the corner and came up empty-handed.
But the majority of the early exchanges remained deep in Glasgow territory. Cardiff were unfortunate not to open the scoring on eight minutes with the bounce of the ball evading Jacob Beetham following a trademark Callum Sheedy cross-kick.
Glasgow had their own opportunities and after their initial forays into Cardiff territory were well defended, they opened the scoring on 17 minutes.
The damage was done as quick hands on the left put Jack Dempsey into space. The number eight could, and should, have put Kyle Rowe away but went himself and became unstuck.
However, two phases later, he powered over with George Horne converting. Six minutes later, Glasgow doubled their lead with a fine strike play, which saw Kyle Steyn get on the outside of Josh Adams, with Horne again on target.
Cardiff quickly responded after the hosts knocked on after the restart. Tom Bowen almost broke clear and moments later, the Blue & Blacks struck from a clever tap penalty.
Taine Basham took the ball to the gain line and from the next phase, and with decoy runners holding the Glasgow defence, Adams sliced through for a try under the sticks.
Sheedy converted to make it 14-7 but it was not long until Glasgow added their third with Johnny Matthews powering over after a penalty was kicked to the corner.
Horne maintained his 100 per cent strike rate and Cardiff were dealt a double blow ahead of half-time as Josh McNally and Josh Adams both departed for HIAs with neither returning.
Matthews drove over for his second try of the night on 53 minutes as the Warriors wrapped up the bonus-point and Horne made it 28-7.
Cardiff responded and enjoyed a long period of pressure but they were unable to break down the home defence with Cam Winnett eventually forced to kick through to the corner.
It did not take long however for Van Zyl’s side to reclaim possession and there was no stopping Danny Southworth from close range.
The Blue & Blacks pressed for a quick fire second but Glasgow pounced on loose ball and almost broke clear with Winnett saving the day.
However, now camped in the Cardiff red zone it did not take long for the hosts to make the pressure count with Patrick Schickerling burrowing over.
Kyle Rowe finished a fine attacking spell on 73 minutes to take the Glasgow score to 40 off of a Tuipolotu basketball-style pass.
Jacob Beetham gave the Blue & Blacks a final sense of hope with a try in the 78th minute after Ioan Lloyd dodged multiple tackles to create space in the corner.
Glasgow opted to keep the ball alive and attempt to add to the scoreline with the clock in the red, but to no avail. Cardiff were able to stave off the Warriors’ attack and attempt a 90 metre run for the bonus point try, but were turned over at the breakdown to bring the evening’s action to a close.
Cardiff will now look ahead to next Friday’s final regular season match against the Stormers with a playoff place on the line at Cardiff Arms Park.