Collingwood 12.12 (84) defeated Carlton 11.15 (81) at the MCG
KEY POINTS
Magic tribute to Magpie champion: Collingwood’s season is very much alive - in the most dramatic of fashion - with a thrilling victory in Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game.
Mitch McGovern had the chance to win the game after the siren but failed to score with his shot from 50 metres out, handing the Magpies a thrilling three-point victory. McGovern took a mark inside the final minute and looked shaken after copping a knock to the head, but recovered to take a shot after the siren.
The win, though, has come at a cost for the reigning premiers, who lost Jordan De Goey to a hamstring injury in the third quarter.
The Pies were in control in the first three quarters but were nearly overrun in the final quarter against a rampaging Blues side which booted the final five goals of the match.
The win keeps the Pies in the finals hunt. They sith 10th on the live ladder, while the Blues have slipped to eighth.
It took Pendlebury’s milestone to bring out the pressure and intensity that has been their trademark under Craig McRae.
The Pies are just a game outside of the eight but do not have an easy run home with matches against ladder leader Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. They will need to win all three to get into September.
Collingwood coach Craig McCrae said De Goey had a high-grade hamstring strain that would make it difficult to play in the short and medium term.
Blues misery on the big stage: Mitch McGovern is one of the Blues’ best kicks - but he could not answer the call when the big moment came.
McGovern, who clinched a draw with a goal after the siren for Adelaide, sprayed his shot from 50 metres out, failing to register a score.
The loss is a dagger blow to Carlton’s hopes of a top-four finish. In second place for much of the past two months, the Blues are now no certainty to play finals, having lost four of their last five games.
The issues that plagued their slump were on show again in the first three quarters of the match.
It was not until the margin hit 32 points that the Blues produced the type of football that had made them one of the flag fancies.
Their midfield came to life in the last quarter, with Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh damaging at the contest.
“There will be a lot spoken about Guv’s last moment, but it wasn’t the only moment that we needed to get right,” Carlton coach Michael Voss said.
“I guess from the last month, that’s probably the best footy that we’ve played for the last month (in the last quarter).
“So we have just got to take that form from the last quarter and lead it into the next week and get after our next opponents.”
The Blues will need to win their remaining three games against the rampant Hawthorn, West Coast and St Kilda to have any hope of finishing in the top four.
“For us, everything is urgent, and what we’ll do though is we’ll stay composed,” Voss said.
“I thought tonight was a step in the right direction. We understand we’re not completely ‘back’ … total connection, if you want to call it that.
“But the good thing about it is it’s completely in our control. We’ve got our next opponent, we’ll play them as hard as we possibly can.”
They may even need to win all three just to qualify for September. As an aside, Charlie Curnow’s run of 63 games with a goal is over.
He managed just two behinds, and was well beaten by Darcy Moore, against whom he bagged six goals in this game last year.
Voss said parts of the game were disappointing, but he was proud of the Blues ability to fight the game out to the end.
“There was some genuine momentum shifts. We were in a position where we couldn’t get the scoreboard ticking over for a little while,” he said.
“I thought Collingwood were able to put some plays together that we coudn’t stop.”
Bad night on the injury front: Adam Cerra’s home-and-away season hangs in the balance after another hamstring injury.
The silky-skilled midfielder was subbed out of the match in the second term with his third hamstring issue this season.
Given his troubles this year, even a minor strain would rule him out for three weeks, leaving him in a race against the clock to be fit for the finals - should the Blues get there.
The Blues also lost running man Matthew Cottrell to a shoulder injury in early in the third term, leaving them down a player for much of the second half.
The Blues are already without star ruck Tom De Koning and small forward Zac Williams
