Essendon suffered an agonising five-point loss to Port Melbourne in an arm wrestle that went right down to the wire in round 18 at Stannards Stadium.
The Bombers got off to a hot start in the first quarter, putting the reigning premiers under enormous pressure while generating forward entry through lateral ball movement and bold run and carry.
Essendon got out to a 24-point lead before Port Melbourne began to arrest the momentum. The Borough turned the match on its head with a four-goal-to-none second quarter and set up what looked a decisive 23-point early in the final quarter.
However, with a top-eight spot up for grabs the Bombers refused to roll over. A string of desperate saves in defence and goals to Jayden Laverde, Trent Mynott and Josh Green bridged the gap to a straight kick with three minutes to play.
After kicking three goals, Danny Younan had a last gasp chance to tie the scores but his shot on the run hit the woodwork and the siren sounded less than sixty seconds later with Essendon trailing 11.11 (77) to 12.10 (82).
Laverde was lion-hearted for the Bombers; the big forward not only impacted contests and worked tirelessly but set the example for his teammates whenever the odds were against his side throughout the contest.
He was ably assisted by his small counterpart Younan, who kicked three of the first eight Bomber goals and was always dangerous around contests near the big sticks before being cruelly denied the chance to save the match in the dying stages.
Green played well as a high forward, influencing the contest with driving disposal while bagging two goals to boot.
After coming into the side as a late inclusion, Wilson Berry provided overlap run out of defence. Equally composed was debutant Edyn Sibbald; the tall from St Bernard’s worked his way into the contest and was able to provide score assists.
Sam Draper’s strong performance in the ruck was compounded by a clean performance at ground level, while Dylan Clarke fought hard for his side playing as a midfielder.
The loss is Essendon’s fifth straight and pushes the Bombers out of the top eight with Footscray jumping in following its win over Frankston.
“Our pressure fell away in the second quarter and they kicked four goals to nothing – that was probably the game,” coach Dan Jordan reflected after the match.
“Even when we got forward, we still didn’t properly capitalise on our opportunities.”
Essendon will travel to Geelong next week to play the Cats at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night from 7pm.
ESSENDON 5.2 5.5 8.7 11.11 (77)
PORT MELBOURNE 3.1 7.3 11.7 12.10 (82)
GOALS
Essendon – Younan 3, Green 2, Laverde, Mynott, Houlahan, Boyse, Draper, Merrett
Port Melbourne – Dickson 2, Conway 2, Pearson, Anastasio, Nahas, Lisle, Rivett, Haretuku, Wooffindin, O’Sullivan
BEST
Laverde, Heppell, Clarke, Younan, Green, Hind
