The Sharks hopes of securing a home Absa Cup Currie Cup semifinal suffered a major blow when they went down 22-21 against the Lions at Ellis Park.
It was a cruel defeat as the Sharks lost in the closing minutes when Lions replacement Grant Esthuizen scored the crucial try.
The match-winning conversion was slotted from the touchline by another Lions substitute Mark Harris.
Moments earlier the Sharks must have though they had the game won when their super-sub and flanker Keagan Daniel ran in a brilliant try from broken play.
Though the Sharks never gave up, their fowards could not dominate and this led to the disappointing loss.
Early pressure by the Sharks, with captain AJ Venter leading from the front as is his way, led to the home side being pinned deep in their half in the opening minutes.
It came as no surprise when the Lions were forced to concede a penalty directly in front of the sticks from 20m out.
Brent Russell, no doubt relishing the opportunity of getting way from carrying tackling bags in the away leg of the disastrous Tri-Nations tour with the Boks, banged over the kick to put his side in front.
The Sharks continued their brand of adventurous attacking rugby, but were struggling to make real inroads against a much improved Lions outfit, who made it clear with their commitment they believed they could beat their more fancied rivals.
The Sharks were being led down by handling errors at critical moments and the Lions took full advantage in the 13th minute.
Sharks flank Jacques Botes, standing amongst the backs, knocked on 35m from the Lions tryline with the Sharks backs well set to score.
The dropped ball was booted through by Sharks bogeyman Wylie Human who nudged it further with his knee with the Sharks defence all at sea.
The perfect bounce of the ball provided the chance for the Jaco double act to come to fore, much to the delight of the home fans.
Lions flyhalf Jaco van Schalkwyk scooped up the ball and put team-mate and centre Jaco Pretorius away with a well-judged pass with no Sharks defenders in sight.
The only comfort for the Sharks was that Lions fullback Earl Rose missed the conversion. (5-3)
This stung the Sharks and they bounced back with a well-worked try by hard-working flank Warren Britz after Venter had drawn the Lions defenders from a scrum close to the home side's tryline.
Continous pressure from the Lions led to flank Cobus Grobbelaar going over and with Rose adding the conversion, the Lions led 12-8.
Lions: Tries - Jaco Pretorius, Cobus Grobbelaar, Grant Esterhuizen. Penalty - Earl Rose. Conversion: Rose, Harris
Sharks: Tries - Warren Britz, Francois Steyn, Keagan Daniel. Penalties: Brent Russell (2).