Essendon have kept their AFL finals hopes alive with a riveting eight-point win over arch rivals Carlton at the MCG.
The second-last Blues rallied from a poor first quarter and led well into the last, but Essendon hit back on Saturday afternoon to win 11.18 (84) to 11.10 (76).
Livewire Essendon forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti had a massive last quarter and deservedly kicked the goal with a minute left that ensured the win. A superb pass from James Stewart found McDonald-Tipungwuti on his own and he ran into an open goal. A couple of minutes earlier, after missing two set shots in the last term, Cale Hooker had kicked the goal that put Essendon in front.
Essendon booted the last three goals of the match, with two of them going to McDonald-Tipungwuti. The win, a massive relief for Essendon, put them back into seventh place.
"The game's how we want it and it looked like we just thought maybe, it's going to stay that way," said coach John Worsfold. "We game them a sniff - the game was on their terms, we weren't kicking well for goal and then we were really undisciplined, two or three times, which we nearly ultimately paid the price for."
Carlton led by two goals midway through the last quarter and were left ruing a couple of missed shots at goal, including Levi Casboult's chance with two minutes left that would have put them back in front. But the rebuilding Blues lost no fans as they gave Essendon an almighty fright.
"It's the sixth or seventh time we've been in really tight situations ... in last quarters and haven't been able to complete it," Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said. "That's frustrating, it hurts, but those moments will be great learning for our young group."
The Bombers, far from convincing, will pay a price for the win, with forward Orazio Fantasia injuring a hamstring and Zach Merrett certain to come under match review panel scrutiny for a gut punch.
Captain Dyson Heppell was best for the Bombers with a game-high 34 disposals, while Blues defender Liam Jones shut down star Essendon forward Joe Daniher. The Essendon spearhead kicked the first two goals of the game and the Bombers made a flying start, racing to a 28-point lead late in the first quarter. But they lost Fantasia to injury and he will be out of action for much of this month.
With Jones tightening up on Daniher, the Blues stopped Essendon's run in the second term and put the game on their terms. The Blues went on a six-goal run to take the lead for the first time during the third quarter. In that time, Essendon kicked a wasteful 0.11. Adding to Essendon's problems, Merrett gut-punched Lachie Plowman in the second quarter.
Jobe Watson's quiet form continued and the former captain missed a second-term snap that he normally would have nailed in his sleep.
After the Bombers finally kicked two goals in the third quarter to regain the lead, Carlton hit back with the last two of the term and led by three points at the final change.