Footscray have been left ruing missed opportunities after a five-point loss to Essendon on Friday night.
The Bulldogs started the final term 14 points in front and extended that lead to 17 at one point in the last quarter, but the last three goals of the match saw the Bombers wrestle back the lead in the dying minutes.
Bulldogs coach Ashley Hansen said post-match that his side’s inability to capitalise in the final term proved too costly.
“It’s a missed opportunity… To simply put it, to have 70 inside 50s to 45, our ability to not be efficient going inside 50 and kick it to their extra number really stood out.
“Our ability to defend the ground off their defensive rebound was really inconsistent all night.
“We put ourselves in a position where we could win the game and we didn’t have enough guys to have the composure and the clear minds to work their way through the game in the last quarter.”
Nathan Hrovat (30 disposals), Sam Darley (29) and Brent Prismall (28) were busy all night, while ruckman Will Minson kicked three goals.
Minson started strongly with seven possessions and two goals in the first term and was a dominant presence around the ground.
He shared the ruck duties with Jordan Roughead and Tom Boyd, while fellow tall Ayce Cordy spent much of the match in defence.
Hansen said despite the number of talls in the side, the dynamic between the group was improving each week.
“It was wet under foot which made the ball fairly slippery but I thought the way those guys played for one another tonight was a massive step on last week.
“I thought Will had a fairly big impact on the game, to kick three goals and to have 18 disposals and really show some energy up forward was encouraging.
“Those boys certainly worked better together and I thought Ayce was quite solid down back.”
The fourth and fifth-placed sides now sit on equal points, with the Bulldogs healthy percentage keeping them in the top four.
The Dogs will take on Werribee away next week, needing a win to guarantee a top-four finish.
Footscray 3.2 6.5 9.11 10.15 (75)
Essendon 4.2 6.4 7.9 11.13 (79)
Footscray Goals: Minson 3, Buchanan, Webb 2, Roughead, Keras, Greenwood
Footscray Best: Hrovat, Prismall, Webb, Minson, A Cordy, Darley
Essendon Goals: Thompson 3, Willis, Hardingham 2, Hickey, Polkinghorne, Purcell, Schroder
Essendon Best: Steinberg, Pears, Kavanagh, Schroder, Coghlan, Willis
