Despite dominating in the second half at Scotstoun Stadium a succession of missed penalties saw Townsend's side lose their six-game winning streak due to a disappointing 6-0 defeat.
Leinster pulled themselves within two points of Glasgow who remain in third position in the RaboDirect PRO12 as Ian Madigan proved the difference with two penalties in each half.
Scarlets win at Munster, their first victory against the Irish outfit for five years, saw them consolidate second position in the RaboDirect PRO12 where they are now five clear of Glasgow.
And Townsend challenged his team to compound Munster's misery by making it two defeats on the spin for Rob Penney's men after taking the positives out of their narrow defeat in terrible conditions to the Heineken Cup champions.
"We had the chances and possession after the interval to turn things around but sadly we did not make the most of it," he told the Glasgow Evening Times. "I could not have asked for any more from the boys but we need to be a bit more clinical.
"We made some mistakes, whether of our own making or through the weather, but I thought it was a game we could have won.
"There was a great deal of frustration at losing the game and our winning run, and it is vital we channel that into getting a positive result at Munster.
"Games like that are all about making sure you learn. There was a very fine line between success and failure."
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