Adam Shantry claimed his first 'five-for' of the season at Chelmsford
Essex lost 14 wickets in the day as Glamorgan seized control of their mid-table Division Two clash at Chelmsford.
Left-arm paceman Adam Shantry took 5-62 as Essex, looking comfortable on 34-0 overnight, slumped to 200 all out.
James Harris helped with 3-37 and then claimed another one, backed by David Harrison's 2-21, as Essex fared little better second time around on 132-4.
That leaves Essex starting the final day still needing another 183 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
South Africa Test batsman Hashim Amla (44no) and England Twenty20 keeper James Foster (26no) look Essex's best bet to deny Glamorgan a first Championship win of the summer.
They have so far put on an unbroken 48 for the fifth wicket. And their hopes of pulling off an escape of Houdini-sized proportions rest either with a break in the weather or Amla, on his Essex debut, remaining defiant for the day.
Shantry was the main Glamorgan hero, as he began by finding a way through the defence of Varun Chopra to end an opening stand of 53 with John Maunders, then went on to destroy the middle order with three wickets in 15 deliveries.
Some semblance of respectability from the home side was achieved by a ninth-wicket stand of 54 between James Middlebrook and David Masters.
But Essex were still forced to follow on 315 behind and were soon in more trouble, this time Harrison doing the damage by getting rid of Chopra and Maunders with only 17 on the board.
Harris and Robert Croft then struck to get rid of Matt Walker and home skipper Mark Pettini to leave Essex in dire straights.
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