Sloppy Cheetahs hang on for fortuitous win
Despite holding a comfortable 27-10 lead, after an impressive and constructive first half, the Cheetahs lost all shape after the break and allowed the Force to charge back and take the lead with less than 10 minutes to go.
It was two Dane Hayleyy-Petty tries that saw the Australian franchise race back into the game.
However a late Fred Zeilinga penalty regained the lead and then the home team hung on for dear life -0 as the Force threw everything but the kitchen sink at them.
The Cheetahs caught the Force napping in the first half, dominating possession and territory to run in four first half tries to take a 27-10 lead into the break.
Determined to get back into the contest the Force came out firing in the second half with Dane Hayllett-Petty crossing for a double and despite only conceding three points in the second half the visitors couldn't complete the comeback.
Western Force captain Pek Cowan said he was proud of his side's effort to come back but lamented the head start they gave the Cheetahs in the opening half.
"It was a tough contest," he said.
"We came here with 26 guys that really wanted to rip in and put up a performance we could be proud of and I think we did that but just didn't get the result in the end."
"Ultimately that first half is what cost us the game, if we did a few things differently in the first half then it could have been a different outcome. We did really well to come back in the that second half but when it comes down to it the Cheetahs came out with right attitude from the start.
"There are some good things to take out of that game and now we will look to freshen up and get back to Perth for the Stormers next week."
The Western Force opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Jono Lance found himself on the receiving end of a high tackle and Ian Prior stepped up to coolly slot the penalty from 30 out to give the Force an early lead.
The Cheetahs responded through Paul Schoeman who lunged to touch down after Sergeal Petersen broke the line following a Cheetahs five-metre scrum. The successful conversion put the home side ahead 7-3.
With the Force struggling to maintain possession the Cheetahs struck again following a line-break from Carl Wegner before blindside flanker Uzair Cassiem went over in the corner. Fred Zeilinga failed to convert to keep the score at 12-3.
The Force responded just minutes later after a spectacular run from Chris Alcock set up Kyle Godwin to go over in his 50th match for the Force. Prior nailed the conversion to close the gap to 12-10 after 29-minutes.
The home side went straight back on the attack to respond just moments later with a solid rolling maul setting up Clayton Blommetjies who darted downed the right wing to score the Cheetahs third of the contest. Zeilinga again missed wide to keep the score at 17-10.
The punishment continued for the Force with dynamic winger Sergeal Petersen dodging three Force tacklers to cross for the Cheetahs' fourth of the opening half. Zeilinga converted to hand the home side a 14-point buffer.
With time ticking down in the first half the Cheetahs went looking for more points and found them through the boot of Zeilinga who nailed a penalty after the Force infringed at the breakdown to give the Cheetahs a 27-10 lead at the break.
The Force were the first to strike after the halftime interval with Ian Prior taking a quick line-out before Dane Haylett-Petty sliced through the Cheetahs defence to charge 60-metres untouched and score. Prior's conversion struck the upright to leave the score at 27-15.
Feeling the momentum shifting in their favour the Force went straight back on the attack and forced penalty. Prior willing accepted to knock it over and close the gap to nine-points.
Continuing the second half comeback the Force swung the ball to the right wing following a scrum 60 metres from the line to find Semisi Masirewa who burst down the touchline and put in a grubber kick for Dane Haylett-Petty to collect and go over for his double. Peter Grant missed wide to keep the score at 27-23.
With 10 minutes to play the Force continued to rally and earned a penalty allowing Peter Grant to split the middle and close the gap to a solitary point.
Sensing the chance to steal the lead back the Force strung the phases together and forced another penalty at the breakdown. Grant made no mistake to put the Force ahead for the first time since the eighth minute, 29-27.
With less than three minutes on the clock the Force conceded a penalty and Zeilinga added the Cheetahs' first points of the second half to put the home side back in front 30-29.
The Force took the game on in the final minutes playing for the win after the siren by chipping off 30-metres but a failure to secure the ball at the back of the ruck allowed the Cheetahs to pounce and put the ball into touch for a thrilling one point win.
Man of the match: Chris Alcock and Brynard SAtander were the Force's most productive forwards, while Dane Haylett-Petty was solid at the back and his try-double is what got the Force back in the game. Clayton Blommetjies was dangerous on attack, but suspect on defence and his tactical kicking was poor. Francois Venter also asked plenty of questions of the Force's defence. However, Cheetahs flank Paul Schoeman was the most productive player for the winners and gets our award.
The scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Schoeman, Cassiem, Blommetjies, Petersen
Cons: Zeilinga 2
Pens: Zeilinga 2
For the Western Force:
Tries: Godwin, Haylett-Petty 2
Con: Prior
Pens: Prior 2, Grant 2
Teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, (captain),12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 George Whitehead, 23 William Small-Smith.
Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett–Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Solomoni Rasolea, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Marcel Brache, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Angus Cottrell, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Rory Walton, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Harry Scoble, 1 Pek Cowan (captain).
Replacements: 16 Anaru Rangi, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Guy Millar, 19 Matt Phillips, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Peter Grant, 23 Semisi Masirewa.
Referee: Kubo Shuhei (Japan)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
TMO: Willie Vos (South Africa)