THE Box Hill Hawks suffered a last-gasp loss to Essendon in their VFL clash on Saturday, going down by three points at Windy Hill.

Box Hill had the better of the opening term, but struggled to convert their opportunities in front of goal.

Tim O’Brien hit the scoreboard early on in the contest as the Hawks established a ten-point lead at the first break.

Essendon closed the gap to just five points at half time as Box Hill continued to struggle in front of the big sticks, booting just one goal for the second quarter and 5.7 for the first half.

The Hawks fired up in the third term thanks to some great work from Hawthorn-listed midfielder Will Langford, kicking four unanswered goals to stretch their lead to 18 points midway through the quarter.

Essendon kicked two of the last three goals late in the term however to stay in touch at the final change, trailing by two goals.

Despite Box Hill’s best efforts, Essendon came home with a wet sail on their home patch, kicking the winning goal with just seconds to go in the game.

Will Langford was Box Hill’s best player finishing with two goals despite playing predominantly in the midfield, giving a boost to his chances of an AFL call-up.

Fellow Hawthorn-listed players Tim O’Brien (three goals), Blake Hardwick (two goals), Teia Miles and Dallas Willsmore (one goal each) hit the scoreboard at various stages.

Irish Hawthorn rookie-listed player Connor Glass also played his first-ever game of AFL for Box Hill in their Victoria Development League win over the Frankston Dolphins on Sunday.

BOX HILL HAWKS    4.5      5.7      10.10   13.14 (92)

ESSENDON                3.1     5.2        9.4     15.5 (95)

Box Hill Goals: O'Brien 3, Langford 2, Brolic 2, Hardwick 2, Miles, Lock, Willsmore, Iles

Box Hill Best: Langford, Switkowski, Webster, Kennedy, Mirra, Hardwick