Werribee was on the wrong end of a tight finish on Sunday, the Tigers going down to Essendon by a single point in their Victorian Football League clash.
Both teams controlled long periods of the see-sawing match at Avalon Airport Oval.
After giving up a 14-point lead at quarter- time, the Tigers came roaring back in the second term with six goals.
It wasn’t just at the attacking end that Werribee played some of its best football, with the side’s defence close to impenetrable.
The Tigers kept Essendon goalless in the second term and took an 18-point lead into the main break.
But when play resumed it was Essendon’s turn to seize control as the Bombers reclaimed the lead. Essendon booted 7.4 for the quarter and was intent on making sure it didn’t allow the Tigers back into the match.
Despite losing the final term by seven points, the Bombers held on to secure the narrowest of wins, 14.14 (98) to 15.7 (97).
Werribee coach John Lamont was disappointed his side couldn’t maintain its lead. “We didn’t think we started as well as we would have liked, but we were able to get our game going in the second quarter and create a good buffer,’’ he said.
“After that we just made mistakes at key times. We turned it over a couple of times and, defensively, we missed some tackles.’’
But Lamont said the match had been a good challenge for his group. “Having being beaten by a point, some people outside the club tend to focus on that last couple of minutes, but there were things that happened throughout the game that cost us.”
After being dropped by North Melbourne, Werribee’s Majak Daw pushed his case for a senior recall with a near-best-on-ground performance. He received support from fellow North Melbourne forward Ben Brown, who kicked three goals. Leroy Jetta was the Bombers’ best player.
Werribee dropped to seventh on the VFL ladder, while the Bombers jumped to 11th. The Tigers (5-4) will look to bounce back on Saturday when they take on Geelong (5-4) at Simonds Stadium.
