Cheetahs shock Crusaders

The Cheetahs clinched their second shock victory in the space of three weeks, this time putting a spanner in the works of Crusaders' play-off aspirations.

The bottom-place South African-based side stunned the table-topping Sharks two weeks ago and followed up with a hard-fought 20-13 triumph at Vodacom Park.

The Crusaders got off to the better start, applying heavy pressure with some hard, deceptive running that left the Cheetahs biting more than they could chew in the tackle department.

The breakthrough finally came in the tenth minute when scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i exploited a small gap seven metres out from the Cheetahs line and raced clear to score under the poles without a single paw laid on him.

Floodgates

Stephen Brett added the extras from bang in front and it looked like the floodgates would open up from there on in.

But the Cheetahs regrouped and kept the Crusaders out of their danger zone for the most part of the first half, and were rewarded for their hard work with a penalty knocked over by fly-half Naas Olivier.

They wouldn't stop there. Five minutes later, a breakout from Meyer Bosman saw the Cheetahs centre link up with the flying Jongi Nokwe whose unrelenting pace once again found him too fast to catch, and the Bok winger galloped in for a well-worked try.

Olivier converted and, surprisingly, the Cheetahs were running into the half-time sheds with a 10-7 lead and their tails held high.

Brett answered a penalty goal 12 minutes into the second half that leveled the scores, but the Cheetahs had two opportunities to extend their minimal lead before that.

Two dropped balls cancelled out certain five-pointers that would have given the hosts a healthy advantage, but instead the crowd sounded sick after winger Danwel Demas and then Adriaan Strauss both fumbled the pigskin with the line at their mercy.

Dangerous tackle

They had to settle for another Olivier penalty instead, that took the Cheetahs in front once again but it was still a three-point ball game and - even more worrying for Cheetahs fans - anyone's for the taking.

The Crusaders had a chance to square things up in the 67th minute after Corne Uys was penalised for a dangerous tackle, but Brett missed a sitter that gave the home side some hope.

With five minutes left on the stadium clock and the match resting on a knife's edge, the Cheetahs' patience with ball in hand - running right, left and up the middle - was finally rewarded with a match-winning touchdown to full-back Hennie Daniller.

Olivier stepped up to add the extras that would force the Kiwis to score twice with time running out. Credit to the Crusaders though who threw everything but the kitchen sink at their hosts, but were just unable to breach the committed defence.

With the final hooter sounding, the Cheetahs gave away a silly penalty that allowed the defeated team to at least take away a consolation point by losing within seven points.

Veteran full-back Leon MacDonald stepped up for the pressure touchline kick that - if successful - could go a long way in helping their semi-final cause. It did.