CARLTON has fallen by 14 points to Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium.

Despite a blistering second quarter which yielded seven goals, the Blues were overrun in the second half in the 9.11 (65) to 11.13 (79) defeat.

Charlie Curnow kicked three first-half goals, but were unable to arrest a final-quarter slide after leading for the majority of the contest.

Quarter one

Now in the pointy end of the season, the two teams had an up-and-back opening term, with players from both sides making early turnovers. Mitch McGovern was a welcome addition after a fortnight out with a hip flexor injury, finding Charlie Curnow for his first of the night. After Harry McKay’s late exclusion from the line-up, it was Lewis Young who was the second tall forward and provided ruck relief, while Alex Cincotta resumed hostilities with Zak Butters, keeping the danger man to three disposals in the opening term. While the Blues weren’t without their opportunities, they failed to capitalise outside of Curnow’s solitary goal, only able to manage four consecutive behinds despite forcing their oppositions to mistakes in the Blues’ forward half. Elijah Hollands was doing everything in his power to assist the Blues as the hot hand in the opening term, amassing 11 disposals, four score involvements and a goal-saving rundown tackle. However, despite that effort and a crucial one-on-one win from Jacob Weitering against the zippy Jason Horne-Francis, the Blues weren’t able to capitalise on their early territory, with Port getting the upper hand at stoppages and kicking the final two goals of the term to take a two-point lead into the first break. The Blues were forced into an early change with Jack Carroll subbed into the game for David Cuningham (dislocated shoulder).

Quarter two

In the win last week over North Melbourne, Carlton rued its inability o put pressure on throughout the second term — there would be no repeat of that in the corresponding quarter this weekend. After Matthew Kennedy’s early goal was cancelled out by Mitch Georgiades, the Blues were straight on the offensive, overwhelming Port Adelaide to surge ahead. In McKay’s absence, Young won a free kick and converted his second goal in the Navy Blue, kickstarting a run of six straight majors for the Blues in front of the Carlton Cheersquad. Curnow was clearly the danger man and providing all sorts of headaches for Port’s defenders, kicking three first-half goals as the Blues’ main focal point. He wasn’t alone, with the Blues’ small forwards getting to work, as Matthew Cottrell, Jesse Motlop and Matthew Owies all converted as Carlton undid its misses from the opening term. Sam Walsh well and truly got going with 16 first-half disposals to go with seven tackles, while the Blues’ defenders did well to stand up as Port wasn’t without its opportunities. A late goal to the away side drew the margin back to 25 at the main break.

Quarter three

It was a goalless first 15 minutes to start the third quarter at Marvel Stadium, with the ball living inside the Blues’ defensive half but they were able to hold on. Lachie Cowan in particular rose to the occasion, with the second-year Blue producing some crucial one-on-one moments to deny his opponent with the Power pressing. Inside the first 10 minutes, 75 per cent of the play was in Port’s forward half, but the Blues were able to respond and start to generate shots on goal. Curnow had a tough chance at his fourth, but could only hit the post from deep in the pocket, and from the resulting kick-out Darcy Byrne-Jones goaled to bring the margin back within three kicks. Kennedy responded with a sensational overhead mark and true set shot to re-establish the Blues’ buffer deep into the term, but they were under pressure, with Port getting field position off the back of winning clearances 15-6. Another two late goals had the margin back to 10 points, the closest the away side had been since early in the second term.

Quarter four

In a reverse of the last time these two sides met, Port Adelaide had the dominance around the ball, continuing to punish Carlton from clearances. After the Blues capitalised off turnover in the first half, the Power also managed to reverse that, ultimately hitting the lead seven minutes into the quarter when Jackson Mead converted from a free kick. Coming off a five-day break, the Blues pushed to get back in the game, but could only manage behinds through George Hewett, Elijah Hollands and Matthew Kennedy which allowed Port to maintain the lead. Jason Horne-Francis dealt the hammer blow after the Blues’ string of behinds, with another late major following a lengthy goal review seeing the Blues fall by 14 points under the roof.

CARLTON                    1.4     8.6     9.8      9.11 (65)
PORT ADELAIDE       2.2     4.5     7.10     11.13 (79)

GOALS

Carlton: Curnow 3, Kennedy 2, Cottrell, Motlop, Owies, Young