Essendon has kept alive its hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon after narrowly notching their second victory of the season against Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Bombers fans let out a deafening roar at the final siren as their team ended a club-record 17-match losing streak, 11.9 (75) to 9.15 (69).

The Done trailed by seven points at the last change, but managed 4.2 to 1.7 in the final quarter.

Touk Miller worked hard all day for the SUNS for his 39 disposals, stepping up in the absence of his team's plethora of injured midfielders.

Gold Coast tall forwards came to the fore in the third quarter, with Tom Lynch, Sam Day and Peter Wright combined for all three of the team's goals in that quarter.  

The Bombers wouldn't respond with a major of their own until more than 20 minutes into the term, when Conor McKenna slotted his second goal of the game.

Mitch Brown's intercept marking was critical late, and he cut the margin to one point two minutes into the final term, booting a set shot through from outside the 50m arc after Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti's speed from defence had been critical.

Minutes later, Brown's effort to bring the ball to ground allowed Jackson Merrett to crumb and put through a goal.

Six consecutive behinds late in the match, including two to Lynch, closed the gap to 12 points before the key forward kicked a goal with 14 seconds remaining on the clock.

However, the Bombers were able to hang on grimly for the win.

NEXT UP
Essendon will look to ride its momentum against the top-four contending Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium next Sunday, while Gold Coast will stay in Melbourne all week before facing Collingwood on Saturday at the same venue.

ESSENDON               3.3   6.6   7.7   11.9 (75)
GOLD COAST           3.1   5.5   8.8   9.15 (69)

GOALS
Essendon: Fantasia 3, McKenna 2, Cooney, Grimley, Daniher, Brown, J.Merrett, Bird
Gold Coast: Lynch 2, Day 2, Wright 2, Grant, Miller, Matera

BEST 
Essendon: Zaharakis, Z. Merrett, Fantasia, Stokes, Ambrose, Gleeson
Gold Coast: Miller, May, Hall, Rosa 

INJURIES
Essendon: Hartley (nose)
Gold Coast: TBC

Reports: Nil 

Umpires: Brown, Foot, Mitchell 

Official crowd: 16,622 at Etihad Stadium