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Cheetahs punish ill-disciplined Boland MATCH REPORT: The Cheetahs cement their Currie Cup play-off spot with a hard-fought 33-24 victory over Boland at Free State Stadium on Sunday. It was a slow start to proceedings, but the Cheetahs eventually found their rhythm, outscoring Boland five tries to three to secure a valuable victory. The result sees the Cheetahs remain second on the log, level on points with leaders Griquas. Meanwhile, Boland remain fourth, level on points with fifth-placed Stormers XXIII. Boland will rue their ill-discipline after being reduced to 12 men at one stage and collecting four yellow cards during a second half that made an already difficult task even tougher. The visitors camped inside the Cheetahs’ half during the opening exchanges but struggled to convert their pressure into points as the hosts absorbed the onslaught. Boland had another entry into the 22 after Golden Masimla sniped around the fringes and showed his pace. The visitors recycled the ball, but a turnover from Ramon Uys at the breakdown brought another promising attack to an end. It took 21 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. The Cheetahs drew first blood when hooker Juan Smal powered over from a driving maul. Former Lions and Namibian flyhalf Tiaan Swanepoel added the conversion to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. Boland were eager to respond in kind and, although their own maul failed to produce the desired result, they found a way to cross the line when lock Johnré Stopforth stretched over. Ashlon Davids added the conversion to level the scores. It was far from a clinical display, with both teams guilty of unforced errors. Although they repeatedly worked their way into promising areas of the field, knock-ons disrupted the flow of the game. With the first half entering its dying minutes, Boland earned another opportunity inside the Cheetahs’ 22 and were rewarded when Davids slotted a penalty to give the visitors a 10-7 lead at the break. The Cheetahs came out firing after the restart, with a snipe from Faf de Klerk providing the perfect platform before the scrumhalf linked up with Zander du Plessis, who crossed for the try. Swanepoel added the conversion as the Cheetahs regained the lead at 14-10. With Boland coming under increasing pressure, their ill-discipline began to creep in. The visitors conceded a succession of penalties and were reduced to 13 men when Kwanda Dimaza was shown a yellow card for dangerous contact with Faf de Klerk, before Chris Smit was also sent to the sin bin for offside. Down to 13 men, Boland were punished by the Cheetahs, with De Klerk getting his name on the scoresheet after powering over from close range. The visitors then lost another player to the sin bin, with Stopforth shown a yellow card for offside. The Cheetahs made their numerical advantage count again as Michael Annies crossed for the bonus-point try. Boland were dealt another blow when Gift Dlamini was shown a yellow card, leaving them with just 13 players on the field. Despite being a man down, Boland refused to surrender and found their second try through Joshua Eras, who powered over the line. Davids added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 26-17 after 68 minutes. However, Annies soon grabbed his second try of the afternoon, much to the delight of the Cheetahs bench. The hosts were then reduced to 14 men when Prince Nkabinde was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown, leaving the Cheetahs with 14 players against Boland’s 13. With the clock winding down, Bentley Geldenhuys showed great pace to race over for Boland’s third try. Davids added the conversion to make it 33-24. Boland, however, could not find the score they needed to secure a losing bonus point as the Cheetahs held on for a hard-fought victory. Player of the match: Cheetahs scrumhalf Faf de Klerk. The No.9 gets our nod after dictating the tempo and proving to be at the heart of the Cheetahs’ performance. De Klerk set up one try and scored another, while his game management and ability to exploit gaps around the fringes consistently put Boland under pressure. The scorers: For Cheetahs: Tries: Smal, Du Plessis, De Klerk, Annies 2 Cons: Swanepoel 4 For Boland: Tries: Stopforth, Eras, Geldenhuys Cons: Davids 3 Pen: Davids Yellow cards: Kwanda Dimaza (Boland, 56 – dangerous clean and contact to the head); Chris Smit (Boland, 59 – offside), Johnré Stopforth (Boland, 60 – offside), Gift Dlamini (Boland, 63 – offside), Prince Nkabinde (Cheetahs, 72 – knockdown) Teams: Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenck (captain), 7 Sisonke Vumazonke, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Simon Muller, 3 Frankie Dos Reis, 2 Juan Smal, 1 Tebogo Nkosi Replacements: 16 Stefan Venter, 17 Dux Manyama, 18 John-Kelly Okonkwo, 19 Arno van der Merwe, 20 Pierre Uys, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Cohen Jasper, 23 Jooste Nel Boland Kavaliers: 15 Domenic Smit, 14 Cornell Engelbrecht, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Chris Smit, 11 Jayden Bantom, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Sibusiso Sangweni, 7 Kwanda Dimaza, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Johnré Stopforth, 3 Heiko Pohlmann, 2 Joshua Eras, 1 Alistair Vermaak Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Mthokozisi Gumede, 19 Jeandre Leonard, 20 Michael Benadie, 21 Thurlow Marsh, 22 Bentley Geldenhuys, 23 James Tedder Referee: Morne Ferreira Assistant referees: Dylen November, Stiaan Marx TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen