Pies deliver miracle

NATHAN Buckley needed a miracle. And maybe this was it. When West Coast star Elliott Yeo ran into an open goal in the last quarter yesterday, he had the chance to bury Collingwood and perhaps its senior coach. But the former Lion missed from 30m out and the Pies trailed by 16 points heading into time-on.

Yet remarkably with two men down, Darcy Moore and Travis Varcoe, Collingwood found something special to deliver an incredible triumph at Etihad Stadium.

Either side of the Yeo sliding doors’ moment, the Magpies rattled home five straight goals to pinch an eight-point victory.

Alex Fasolo, who made the courageous call to step away from the game earlier in the year to deal with depression, repaid the Pies in heart-warming circumstances when he iced the win in the final minute with a 45m set shot.

Fasolo bent to the ground, pumped his fists and let out a passionate scream just before the siren. His teammates ran to him, knowing how significant it was.

Not only for Fasolo, but perhaps the whole team. And especially its besieged coach.

Collingwood players have said for weeks they want Buckley to stay on and they showed it yesterday, coming back from the dead.

The Pies trailed by 20 points in the third term just after Moore suffered a concussion and suspected neck problem, and by 26 points one minute into the final quarter.

The statistics say you do not win from there as Josh Kennedy, who kicked six goals on Tyson Goldsack, highlighted the deficiencies the Pies have in the key position stocks at either end of the ground.

This was the 16th time Kennedy had slotted six majors or more and, until yesterday, the Eagles had all those games.

This was a huge choke from the visitors, and Yeo may never forget his miss. The Magpies showed tremendous ticker. After halftime they ramped up the defensive pressure, turned the tide in the midfield and their makeshift forward line ran hot.

In the last term the Pies won the contested ball battle 32-13, with the bench down by two men.

The other big redemption story was Jordan De Goey. He was the bloke who hurt his hand in a scrap at a night spot, lied to the club about it and paid for his poor judgment.

While there were many heroes in black and white, De Goey was the difference, kicking four second-half goals.