Mike Cusack scored his first Warriors try and Glenn Bryce added a second late on but the Scarlets held on for a 16-10 win despite finishing the game with 11 players on the pitch, following yellow cards for Rob Evans, James Davies and John Barclay and Rhodri Williams off the field with a head injury.
Townsend told Glasgow's website: "The players put in a great effort in the second half which was very encouraging.
"We didn't get the game right in the first-half, we gave Scarlets too much of the ball and we didn't look after the ball when we were in possession.
"We scored two tries when they were down to 12 men (sic) at the end so it showed what we were doing was getting us close to the try line and that was very difficult considering we were playing into the wind.
"All credit to Scarlets, they played really well in the first half, we knew they would be a dangerous side and they took their chances well."
The former Scotland international was also keen to praise a number of the club's debutants despite the defeat.
He added: "There were a number of players who played their first game for the club and I thought they all put in tremendous efforts considering the circumstances.
"Scott (Cummings) in particular was excellent; he showed real confidence calling the line-out and the way he carried the ball and tackled I thought was superb.
"Then we had Robbie Fergusson who also made his debut after Rory Hughes got injured and I thought he looked confident in taking on the opposition's defence.
"It's great to expose a lot of these younger players to the level they should be playing at this season."
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