Glamorgan hold the advantage in their crunch Division Two match, but Gloucestershire fought back through seamers Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby on the third day at Cardiff.

The Welsh county will go into the final day holding a 295-run lead after they reached 169-8 in their second innings before bad light stopped play.

In the morning session, Glamorgan claimed Gloucestershire CCC's remaining three wickets in the space of 15.3 overs to secure a first-innings lead of 124.

Despite Richard Dawson's first half-century for Gloucestershire, from 94 deliveries, new ball bowlers, Garnett Kruger and James Harris, had a profitable first hour after the visitors resumed on 251-7, requiring a further 10 to avoid the follow-on.

Kruger bowled Lewis with his third ball of the morning, before Harris claimed the remaining two wickets.

Harris had Dawson caught behind to record Glamorgan's third bowling point and then had Kirby leg before.

Glamorgan did not have the morning entirely to themselves. The Welshmen found themselves on 18 for one when Mark Cosgrove was caught in the gully off Kirby, before reaching lunch at 32-1 – an overall lead of 156.

After the interval, Gareth Rees, the top scorer in the match to date with 88, continued his form, but he did lose fellow left-hander Will Bragg, who was caught behind off Lewis.

From 49-2, Rees and Powell took Glamorgan's lead to 200 before wickets began to fall at regular intervals.

Rees went lbw to Dawson's fourth ball, and just after skipper Jamie Dalrymple passed 1,000 first-class runs for the summer, he edged Kirby straight to first slip.

And a brilliant, diving catch by Chris Taylor off Lewis accounted for Jim Allenby as Glamorgan slipped from 81 for two to 10-5. But the upside for the Welsh county was that they had a 229-run lead. That lead had increased to 245 by tea.

Lewis struck again to remove the in-form Powell, who was the victim of a good catch by William Porterfield at backward point. Only another two runs were added before Mark Wallace was bowled by Dawson.

Kirby, Gloucestershire CCC's leading wicket-taker, added another scalp when Harris pulled to deep backward square-leg as Glamorgan's second innings further subsided to 156-8.

Robert Croft and Dean Cosker put on 15 runs before bad light took the players from the field just after 5pm.