Essendon has broken through for its historic first win in VFL Women’s with a heart-stopping eight-point victory over Richmond.

The Bombers seized control of the match in the third quarter with a pair of goals to Mon De Matteo and Kendra Heil to force an eight-point lead at the final change.

Brendan Major’s side was made to earn their inaugural win every step of the way in the last quarter as the Tigers began to pepper the goals with the wind at their backs.

However, there was no stopping a side whose time to claim the four points had come: with six minutes to go, De Matteo won a holding the ball free and calmly slotted her second to put the result beyond doubt, 5.4 (34) to 3.8 (26).

Against a Richmond side to whom they had lost by 34 points in the Dreamtime match just over a month ago, the Bombers were hot from the first bounce.

Aside from a five-minute patch at the start of the second quarter that saw the Tigers net two goals, the contest was either even or on Essendon’s terms in the second half.

Richmond was relentless in the final quarter but sprayed six straight behinds as the Bombers denied them time and space again and again.

By contrast, the growing maturity in Major’s side was shown with their direct ball movement in the match-winning play: Alex Quigley and Jess Trend took tough contested marks to drive the Bombers forward whereupon De Matteo laid the tackle and hammered the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin.

It was De Matteo’s finest performance and many of her teammates lifted with her: Maddy Collier and Bec Neaves led a resilient and ruthless backline, Nat MacDonald won the ball on the inside, Simone Nalder was lion-hearted in the ruck and Tait Mackrill was prolific as a high half-forward.

Captain Lisa Williams and leadership group member Lauren Morecroft both stood tall for their side in the clinches.

The win was made all the more remarkable for the absence of key defenders Jenna Barker and Tanya Hetherington, ruck Beth Kearney and forward Danielle Ponter, and the loss of Irena Malliaras to injury before quarter-time.

For Major, every sign of potential his side has shown was validated and emphasised by a win achieved in the grittiest of circumstances.

“Basically, it was an 80-minute effort for the first time in the year,” the coach said.

“We made the most of our entries inside 50 with the forwards applying plenty of pressure. The midfielders got moving around stoppages and got the ball going forward.

“The defenders were really disciplined, played their roles well and kept us in the game at times against the wind.”

Essendon will look to make it two in a row when it plays Footscray at the VU Whitten Oval next Sunday from 2pm.

ESSENDON   1.2    2.2    4.4    5.4.34
RICHMOND 0.1    3.1    3.2    3.8.26

GOALS
Essendon – 
De Matteo 2, Hardy, Quigley, Heil
Richmond – 
Damon, Kennedy, Lynch

BEST
Collier, Nalder, Neaves, De Matteo, MacDonald, Mackrill