Essendon’s ability to win the contested ball late in the game against Carlton was the difference according to Bombers Captain Dyson Heppell.

The Dons won by eight points after Carlton led for much of the second half.

“Late in the game we cleaned things up around the contest, we managed to win some of those one on ones and one on twos even,” Heppell said.

“We started to outnumber a bit around the footy and it was really basic in the end – kick the ball deep, give the forwards an opportunity … ‘Hooksy’ (Cale Hooker) got on the end of a few and the game started to open up a bit.”

The Bombers kicked five goals in the opening term and looked on track for a comfortable win before the Blues wrested back control after quarter time.

“I thought we started really well, got the game on our terms, played the way we wanted to and then completely went away from those structures,” Heppell said.

“To Carlton’s credit they played a really smart brand of footy – kick and catch, keep the ball off us.

“They managed to capitalise on their opportunities going forward as well.

“I thought in the end it was a great effort to stick it out and eventually turn the game late.

“We’ll take the four points, it definitely wasn’t pretty but we move on.”

The Bombers played much of the game with 21 fit players after Orazio Fantasia injured his hamstring in the first quarter.

“Raz has been enormous for us, he’s a very important player for the group,” Heppell said.

“It hurts the remainder of us when you lose a rotation.

“You spend longer on the ground and the fatigue factor kicks in late as well.

“I thought that was a big effort, having the fatigue in the legs and being able to keep going and get on top in the end.”

Cale Hooker was a key figure in the last quarter.

He took five marks for the term including four inside 50.

The key forward missed two set shots but nailed the third to put the Bombers in front.

“Even his missed opportunities – he was striking them really well and they were just fading late,” Heppell said.

“He stuck at it and to his credit nailed one late and put us in front.”

The Bombers now face Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

“We’ll be pretty honest in our review because it certainly wasn’t pretty,” Heppell said.

“We had a number of players down today so we’ll look to lift during the week, focus on Adelaide – obviously they’re a fantastic side and it’s a great challenge. 

“We’re just looking to improve on our game … we’ll fire up and go again.”