BRISBANE coach Chris Fagan believes the Lions did enough to beat Adelaide after missed late chances proved costly in a five-point loss.
The Lions led for the majority of the round 13 clash, but the Crows came from behind to steal the momentum in the final term, kicking five unanswered goals to claim victory over the reigning premiers.
CROWS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats
Frustratingly for Fagan and the club's supporters, Brisbane had several forward 50 entries when the game was in the balance, but shots on goal went to waste.
The Lions couldn't convert, with Zac Bailey spraying two shots out on the full and Lachie Neale missing an open goal from 20 metres out under no pressure.
"We had 10 shots in the last quarter and they had five," Fagan said after the loss.
"They kicked accurately and they got some balls out the back and (Riley) Thilthorpe's goal at the start brought the crowd into it and they got a little bit of momentum, but in terms of the last quarter, 10 shots to five, we had five more shots, we lose the game.
"That was a game we should have won, in my view. I'm not taking anything away from Adelaide, they persisted, so did our blokes when Adelaide got in front. We dominated the last 15 minutes of the last quarter and couldn't get it on the board."
The Lions were in front on the stat sheet, finishing the game winning in key areas.
"I'll walk away from here … we win clearances by 19, we win contested possession by 13, time in forward half we're in front, 74 per cent of the time the ball was in our forward line in the last quarter. We've had 74 more disposals," continued Fagan.
"We did so many things right and didn't win the game. I'm proud of my boys. I'm disappointed that we coughed up a decent lead early in that last quarter, but the way we played at the end to try and win the game, we were all over them, we just couldn't kick it through the goals.
“We showed good character, I thought. It's hard to come here and win, they're a very in-form team, we kept them to a pretty low score for them and a low number of shots so, bit frustrated at losing but still proud of the effort."
For Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks, he was pleased with his side's ability to keep in touch with the reigning premiers for four quarters and conceded that a bit of luck was involved in the win.
"To actually get it done, to actually finish it off and yes, there was some luck in it, but we'd done enough to get the game on our terms and be in a position where we can try and hold on so that's the most pleasing part," Nicks said.
"I'm so proud of the group, they just held on and you get lucky because you deserve it. The footy Gods work in funny ways. We haven't had any luck in the last three or four years, things have gone against us, things that you just couldn't believe would and we've talked the whole time and said, 'It's OK, eventually we'll get something go our way' and tonight we got a bit of luck to win that game."
Crows captain Jordan Dawson inspired his side in the final quarter, which featured a huge contested mark and goal to spark Adelaide.
"You talk about moments, talk about our captain and the way he stepped up in that last quarter. He wasn't the only one, there were a lot of different moments, but it's as good a performance in a quarter when we needed someone to take hold," Nicks said.
"He's done it before, really pleased he was able to do that, ultimate team player but knows when it's time to step up and impact the games."
Adelaide now faces another huge challenge when it meets Hawthorn next Friday night in Tasmania, while Brisbane will play Greater Western Sydney at home next Saturday afternoon.
