Richard Michael
DeanoHarmoBombers Fly, Swans Sigh in One-Point Thriller
June 3rd 2007 07:52
Category: No Category
Essendon and Sydney have a tradition of playing close games. The best-known example was the 1996 prelim final when Lockett's point after the siren got the Swans into the ground final. But there's been plenty of others - Alessio's late goal at Docklands, Ricky Mott's heartbreak in the first ever Telstra Stadium game are a couple that spring to mind. And Saturday's SCG classic was another one to add to the list.
The momentum see-sawed through the night. Essendon raced out of the blocks with the first five goals of the game, but Sydney slowly but surely pegged the Bombers back. There was only 2 points in it at half-time, then the game tightened. The Swans got the only goal of the third term, while the Bombers were left to lament a couple of easy misses from Matthew Lloyd. Then on the three-quarter time siren, Scott Lucas had a shot at goal that pulled up short, but went off Everitt's hands for a behind.
Lloyd got the Bombers in front early in the last, and two more goals stretched the lead out to 16 points. But the Swans weren't done yet and came back hard. When the game was in the balance, Essendon's Adam McPhee took the ball near the boundary line before driving it forward for Mark McVeigh to thread the ball through a tight angle for a critical goal. Replays showed the ball was out of bounds, but the goal stood. And in the end, it was the difference.
Nick Davis got a goal back for the Swans, and the margin was 2 points. The Swans pressed forward again, where Amon Buchanan had a shot that just hit the post. Bombers led by a point, and that's how it stayed.
The Sydney supporters made no secret of their frustration with the umpires, showering them with a torrent of abuse as they left the field and booing Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd as he accepted the Marn Grook Trophy. It was a display of passion often missing from Swans crowds; and if they maintain the noise they created in the last quarter of this match it will go close to re-creating the cauldron atmosphere that was so prevailent in the late 1990s but which has become much quieter in recent years.
But winners are grinners, and this was a deserved win by the Bombers. Talk of this result being influenced by umpires is ill-informed and smacks of sour grapes. The reality is the Bombers were first to the ball all night; and when the ball was in dispute and a pack formed, a Bomber was at the bottom of the pack every time. And while the focus will be on the out-of-bounds by McPhee, there were many other decisions both way that could also have had an influence. In the end, the one-point result was a fair reflection of the game - a match in which no quarter was asked or given, a match where all the skills were on display, a match where the momentum shifted as it went down to the wire. A match that continues the tradition of Essendon v Sydney classic thrillers.
The momentum see-sawed through the night. Essendon raced out of the blocks with the first five goals of the game, but Sydney slowly but surely pegged the Bombers back. There was only 2 points in it at half-time, then the game tightened. The Swans got the only goal of the third term, while the Bombers were left to lament a couple of easy misses from Matthew Lloyd. Then on the three-quarter time siren, Scott Lucas had a shot at goal that pulled up short, but went off Everitt's hands for a behind.
Nick Davis got a goal back for the Swans, and the margin was 2 points. The Swans pressed forward again, where Amon Buchanan had a shot that just hit the post. Bombers led by a point, and that's how it stayed.
The Sydney supporters made no secret of their frustration with the umpires, showering them with a torrent of abuse as they left the field and booing Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd as he accepted the Marn Grook Trophy. It was a display of passion often missing from Swans crowds; and if they maintain the noise they created in the last quarter of this match it will go close to re-creating the cauldron atmosphere that was so prevailent in the late 1990s but which has become much quieter in recent years.
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