Two second-half strikes by right wing Giscard Pieters spearheaded the Cheetahs' 27-26 win over the Sharks in their Super 14 match in Durban.

The win was the Free State team's first of the competition after their loss to the Bulls in last week's opening round.

Fullback Percy Montgomery put the Sharks on the board with a sixth-minute penalty, and the Springbok stalwart made it 8-0 after 11 minutes when he joined the line and scored after a scrum inside the Cheetahs' 22.

Left wing Gaffie du Toit was on hand to score the Cheetahs' first try in the 17th minute after a swarming attack by the visitors forced the Sharks to carry the ball over and concede a five-metre scrum.

The Sharks stretched their lead to 10 points with 12 minutes left in the half when lock Albert van den Berg muscled through the defence to score.

Flank Kabamba Floors chopped the margin in half with a try after lock Corniel van Zyl won possession at a line-out and passed laterally back to hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, who made the hard yards up the touchline.

The Sharks restored their advantage in the dying moments of the first half when 19-year-old flyhalf Bradley Barritt, who was promoted from the bench shortly before kickoff, bustled over the line after a break of 40m by centre Gcobani Bobo.

The Cheetahs levelled the score at 20-20 in the 49th minute when flyhalf Meyer Bosman converted after Pieters sped down the touchline to score.

Montgomery nudged the Sharks back into the lead with a penalty in the 58th minute, but Pieters' second try after the Cheetahs won a lineout on the opposite side of the field made it 27-23 to the visitors with 18 minutes left.

A third Montgomery penalty narrowed the gap to a point going into the last 10 minutes, but with three minutes on the clock he missed from 40 metres.

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