Longmire praises gutsy win

SYDNEYSWANS.com.au

SYDNEY Swans coach John Longmire was impressed with the way his side responded after overcoming a 28-point deficit to beat Essendon by five points at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

The Swans led by four goals last week against Melbourne but surrendered their lead as the Demons clinched a last-minute draw.

One week later and it was the Swans who were forced to mount the comeback.

The spark came from a reliable source in dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, whose move into the midfield in the second quarter rejuvenated the Swans.

“I thought we found a way to win,” Swans coach John Longmire said.

“We were four goals down at one point and some of our ball use wasn’t great and we just dug in and started chipping away from there.

“We really made a big effort to get back into the game.

“There were a few players cramping pretty badly in the last quarter but they just got the job done.”

The first two games in the coaches box have been a tense affair for the first-year senior coach.

After experiencing the numbness of a draw last week, Longmire was forced to sit through a nail-biting finish against Essendon.

The Swans led by five points after Jude Bolton kicked truly from 45 metres with only minutes remaining. Only moments later, Longmire was forced to watch Brent Stanton running into an open goal before Marty Mattner’s lunging tackle stopped the Bombers from stealing the win.

Longmire said he was pleased with the way the senior players lifted when the Swans needed to get back into the contest.

“The important thing from the team’s point of view is that they get some reward for their effort,” Longmire said.

“As tight as it got last week, to get over the line (this week) I thought there were some really good individual efforts.

“I think Marty Mattner’s tackle where he seemed to be 15 or 20 metres away from Stanton, I thought he just found a way to get there.

“When Goodesy went into the midfield he made a big difference for us and really changed the momentum back our way.

“A couple of leaders really stood up which was satisfying.”

Longmire praised the work of young forward Sam Reid whose efforts provided the team with the luxury of pushing Goodes through the midfield.

“Reid presents, he’s a fit young kid who just competes really well,” he said.

“I think he’s a very promising player for us.

“If he can hold down that key forward position it allows so much else to go on in regards to the team structure.

“He’s only young and coming off a shoulder reconstruction last year as well.”

Encouragingly for the Swans, Tadhg Kennelly is pushing his way back into the senior side after playing for the reserves on Sunday while Lewis Roberts-Thompson is recovering well from a calf injury he sustained last weekend.