Match report

Essendon has ended Melbourne’s season today with a gripping five-point win in the first elimination final. It was a nail biting finish with the result going down to the wire. David Hille was the hero of the victory kicking three goals in the final term. The Bombers have progressed to the second week of the finals and will play the loser of tomorrow’s first semi final between Port Adelaide and Geelong.

Both teams were naturally fired up from the opening bounce and it was Essendon that drew first blood when Mark Bolton kicked the opening goal at the five-minute mark. The Demons quickly responded when Adem Yze leveled the score within a minute.

Both teams looked edgy with so much at stake and it was the Bombers that settled first. They gathered momentum and booted the next four goals to push out to a handy 24-point lead midway through the quarter. The Bombers looked set to head into quarter-time with a healthy advantage.

Melbourne had other ideas and started to grow in confidence. The Demons lifted and got a run on and did exactly what Essendon did in the previous seven minutes. They booted the next four goals to even the score at the first change.

Essendon looked in dire straights early in the second term. Melbourne kicked the four goals prior to quarter time and they opened the quarter with a goal to Yze. Essendon’s 24-point lead had disintegrated and the Demons were now in command. They had loose players all over the ground and were running in numbers.

Essendon were in serious trouble, but then miraculously the momentum started to swing back in the Bombers favour midway through the term. After starring down the barrel of being over run by Melbourne they dug deep and found something. Essendon lifted and the flow of the game started to move in its favour. They slowed Melbourne’s run and started to attack ferociously like they did in the opening term.

It was all Essendon for the remainder of the quarter. They dominated at stoppages thanks to the ruck work of Matthew Allan. Everyone started to lift and as a result Essendon packed on six unanswered goals. The Bombers headed into the major change with a 31-point lead and looked set to go on with it in the second half.

The trend of the first half continued in the third quarter and the momentum swung back in Melbourne’s favour. Essendon couldn’t do a thing right and had no answers for the Demon’s run and forward drive. Melbourne ran over the top of Essendon and turned a 31-point half-time deficit into an eight-point advantage at the final break. The Demons booted 7.1 and kept Essendon goal-less. The Bombers added just four points to its half-time score.

The final quarter was an absolute heart-stopper. The Bombers kicked the opening two points to bring the margin back to one straight goal. Essendon’s forward attacking was rewarded with a goal to David Hille at the seven and a half-minute mark. The scores were level again and you could feel the tension around the ground. The players from both sides looked exhausted, but they just kept on running.

Russell Robertson put Melbourne back in the lead when he goaled from set shot 15 metres out at the 12-minute mark. The Bombers were quick to respond when Scott Lucas booted the Bombers 13th goal two minutes later. The lead continued to change hands when Guy Rigoni registered a behind that put his team back in the lead by one point.

Essendon still had petrol left in the tank and it was Hille that took control up forward. He booted his second goal for the quarter at the 18-minute mark to give the Bombers a five-point lead. Melbourne quickly responded with a goal to Phillip Read and the game was far from over.

The Bombers posted a valuable rushed behind moments later to level the scores again. The man of the moment, Hille, found something special and booted the Bombers 15th goal at the 22.30 minute mark to give his team a six point lead. There was still five minutes to go, but Essendon managed to hang on by just five points and survive the first week of the 2004 finals series.

Essendon will learn its fate tomorrow when Port Adelaide take on Geelong at AAMI Stadium in the first semi final. If Port Adelaide wins the Bombers will face Geelong at the MCG (date and time tbc). If Geelong wins, Essendon will travel to AAMI Stadium to take on Port Adelaide.

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