We only have ourselves to blame: Matthews
July 27th 2008 00:12
BRISBANE has only itself to blame for their narrow loss to Richmond at Telstra Dome on Saturday night, according to coach Leigh Matthews.
The Lions led by 25 points at the last change and by eight points at the 27-minute mark of the final term but went down by three points when Richmond veteran Joel Bowden kicked truly from about 45 metres out with just 22 seconds remaining.
The loss was the Lions' fourth in a row in Victoria and puts their finals hopes in jeopardy.
With nine wins and eight losses, the Lions now find themselves level with St Kilda, Collingwood and Adelaide and just half a game ahead of the Tigers with five rounds remaining.
Matthews said his team paid the price for not making the most of their opportunities in front of goal.
"They took their shots really well and kicked really accurately," he said of the Tigers.
"We generated a host of shots (34 to 27) but missed too big a percentage and that was the biggest single reason why they won and we didn't."
Matthews said the Lions' output during their dominant third term compared to Richmond's output during the final stanza was the difference between the two sides.
"When Richmond was in control (in the final term) they kicked 8.2 but in the third quarter we kicked 6.6," he said.
"And unless you dominate the game (for four quarters) you can't kick inaccurately and win generally."

The Lions led by 25 points at the last change and by eight points at the 27-minute mark of the final term but went down by three points when Richmond veteran Joel Bowden kicked truly from about 45 metres out with just 22 seconds remaining.
The loss was the Lions' fourth in a row in Victoria and puts their finals hopes in jeopardy.
With nine wins and eight losses, the Lions now find themselves level with St Kilda, Collingwood and Adelaide and just half a game ahead of the Tigers with five rounds remaining.
Matthews said his team paid the price for not making the most of their opportunities in front of goal.
"They took their shots really well and kicked really accurately," he said of the Tigers.
"We generated a host of shots (34 to 27) but missed too big a percentage and that was the biggest single reason why they won and we didn't."
Matthews said the Lions' output during their dominant third term compared to Richmond's output during the final stanza was the difference between the two sides.
"When Richmond was in control (in the final term) they kicked 8.2 but in the third quarter we kicked 6.6," he said.
"And unless you dominate the game (for four quarters) you can't kick inaccurately and win generally."

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