Petersen breaks Lions' hearts
The 23-year-old evaded a few Lions' defenders at the death to score a try that sent his side back to the top of the Currie Cup standings.
The result also means that the Lions have now lost five of their six matches in the Currie Cup season so far.
The Lions got the game off to a perfect start when big lock Andries Ferreira crashed over for a try after sustained pressure in the Cheetahs' 22. Fullback Jaco van der Walt stepped up to convert the try for a seven-point lead.
However, the Lions' lead did not last long when Cheetahs flank Gerhard Olivier charged down a Van der Walt kick in the Lions' 22 to gather and run in for a try. Flyhalf Robbie Petzer converted the score to level matters.
The Lions were nearly over again for a try in the 17th minute. However, replacement back Aphiwe Dyantyi lost the ball over the Cheetahs' tryline after he gathered a neat grubber kick from flyhalf Ashlon Davids.
The Cheetahs were then given a boost in the 19th minute when Lions prop Corne Fourie was yellow carded for a dangerous charge into a ruck.
However, the home side could not take advantage of the extra man in terms of tries. They did, however, take the lead in the 31st minute with a Petzer penalty.
The Cheetahs also had the final say of the first half when Petzer converted a penalty to give his side a 13-7 lead at the break.
In the opening 10 minutes of the second half, it was all Lions as the visitors scored two converted tries via Hacjivah Dayimani and Fabian Booysen for a 21-13 scoreline.
The Cheetahs finally got their first points of the second half in the 61st minute when Petzer slotted a penalty to reduce the deficit to five points.
The home side did eventually regain the lead when Rosko Specman produced a moment of magic and broke through a number of defenders to score a try in the 69th minute. William Small-Smith stepped up for the conversion to put his side in front by two points.
With the clocking winding down, the Lions won a crucial penalty in the Cheetahs' half. Van der Walt converted it to give his three points and give them a one-point lead with three minutes left on the clock.
Just when it looked like the Lions will hang on for a crucial win, a moment of magic from fullback Petersen broke the Lions' hearts.
Man of the match: Robbie Petzer had a good outing for the Cheetahs and Rosko Specman was at his deadly best out wide again. Aphiwe Dyantyi gave the Lions an extra spark on attack. However, the award goes to Lions replacement Hacjivah Dayimani for the impact he made in the second half and getting the Lions back into the game.
The scorers:
For Free State Cheetahs:
Tries: Olivier, Specman, Petersen
Cons: Petzer, Small-Smith 2
Pens: Petzer 3
For Golden Lions:
Tries: Ferreira, Dayimani, Booysen
Cons: Van der Walt 3
Pen: Van der Walt
Yellow card: Corne Fourie (Golden Lions, 19 – foul play, dangerous charge)
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 William Small Smith, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Mkazole Mapimpi, 10 Robbie Petzer, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Niell Jordaan (captain), 7 Gerhard Olivier, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 Retshegofaditswe Nche, 17 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 18 Rynier Bernardo, 19 Jasper Wiese, 20 Zee Mkhabela, 21 Ryno Benjamin, 22 Cecil Afrika.
Golden Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Antony Volmink, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 James Venter, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Jacques van Rooyen (captain), 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Jansen, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 Rhyno Herbst, 19 Hacjivah Dayimani, 20 Bradley Thain, 21 Nicolaas Hanekom, 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi.
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Assistant referees: Jaco Kotze, Darren Colby
TMO: Johan Greeff with Lourens van der Merwe
