Bombers pipped at the Post

Brisbane Lions   70 defeated Essendon   69

A skewed shot at goal with two seconds remaining was the difference as Brisbane came back from 17 points down at the last change to roll a gallant Essendon outfit by a point at Carrara tonight.

With the scores level and a minute remaining in the final term, Brisbane pushed the ball down the wing through a series of stoppages and desperate efforts at the ball, where it eventually fell to Jared Brennan who – running towards the boundary in the wrong pocket for a left-footer – let fly with a shot from 45-metres out and snuck a behind to give his side victory.

It was a tremendous contest between two youthful sides all night, and after controlling the play for the majority of the match, Essendon could consider themselves unlucky not to have won.

Brennan and new recruit Mitchell Clark were impressive up front with three goals each, while Mal Michael kept Essendon skipper Matthew Lloyd to one goal and rookie-listed debutant Scott Harding was excellent with 28 possessions.

For Essendon, Scott Lucas booted three goals while Brent Stanton collected 26 possession and Mark McVeigh provided drive from defence and through the middle with 25 disposals.

Both sides started with a number of new recruits and it was the Lions’ Western Australian youngster in Clark who booted the first major, but it was the visitors who stole the first significant break when Essendon slammed on the next four goals, including a Stanton’s super goal that wasn’t awarded until the quarter-time break.

Young Lions ruckman Cameron Wood broke the pattern with a goal following a harsh 50-metre penalty on Nathan Lovett-Murray in accordance to the new contact rule after a mark has been taken, but the Bombers hit back via Angus Monfries who ran into an open goal after a brilliant tap on by Lloyd.

Essendon went into the first break 17 points ahead, but a super goal to burly Brisbane forward Daniel Merrett early in the second term brought the margin back to eight.

The Lions had drawn level by halfway through the quarter, but a late goal to Andrew Lovett helped the Bombers pull away to an eight-point half-time advantage.

The game started to get extra physical in the third term, despite a lot of the young players on the field being less than bulky.

Brennan opened the scoring with a major, but Lucas soon hit back to restore the Bombers’ lead. Luke Power had a chance to pull the margin back to two points, but instead of having a set shot after marking inside 50, he stupidly played on and missed under pressure.

From the resultant kick-out, the ball was swept into the Bombers’ forward line where Scott Camporeale marked his first game in black and red with a running goal to extend the lead to 15 points, with Essendon taking a 17-point lead into the final change.

It got extremely tight and tough in the final term, with both sides putting their bodies on the line in a desperate to advance to the next round, despite it only being a pre-season tournament.

Brisbane kicked two quick goals to bring the margin to a mere five points, and Chris Johnson had a chance to put the hosts in front but hit the post from the pocket.

Ricky Dyson missed a chance to put the Bombers beyond a goal’s reach of the Lions, and it was Brennan who made Essendon pay when with two and a half minutes on the clock he fought hard for the ball 30-metres out, and after being illegally held just lashed a shot off the ground that shot past three opponents and through the big sticks to put the Lions ahead for the first time since early in the opening term.

Brisbane went forward from the resulting centre bounce, but excellent work by the Bombers’ defence saw the ball end up in Essendon’s forward line, where Lovett snapped a behind from a spillage with a minute to go to level the scores.

It looked like extra-time would be needed to separate the two sides before Brennan’s heroics capped off a sensational final term for the injury-prone young gun whose hard work when the game was there to be won delivered his side the win.

Brisbane will play Melbourne next Friday night at Telstra Dome after they disposed of the Bulldogs by a goal in Darwin tonight.

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