THE Bendigo Bank Bombers squandered a 40-point half-time lead against the Gold Coast on Saturday as they lost their VFL match in Cairns with a kick after the siren.Scores were level at 89 apiece when the final siren sounded.However, at the final siren Gold Coast ruckman Zac Smith had the ball in his hands 40m out after marking a pass from Hayden Jolly.Kicking into the breeze, any score would do for the Gold Coast to win just its third game of the season.Smith’s kick after the siren went through for a behind, which gave the Gold Coast a 13.12 (90) to 13.11 (89) victory at Cazaly’s Stadium.The defeat was a bitter blow for the eighth-placed Bombers, who are now 6-7 and with a tough fight on their hands over the last five rounds if they are to play finals for the first time since 2007.At half-time, though, the Bombers look headed for their second win this season over the AFL’s club-in-waiting, which later this week is expected to be launched as the Gold Coast Suns.The Bombers – who beat the Gold Coast by 26 points in round five – held a commanding 40-point lead at half-time, 9.3 to 2.5.Bendigo made a brilliant start to the game against the wind in the first quarter.The Bombers booted 6.1 to 1.1 in the first quarter, before adding 3.2 to 1.4 in the second term. However, faced with the 40-point deficit at half-time, the young Gold Coast lifted after the main break.The Gold Coast kicked seven goals to two in the third term to cut the deficit to 10 points at three quarter-time.Bendigo had the wind in the last quarter, but the Gold Coast rallied in a pulsating last 30 minutes full of momentum swings.Gold Coast got out to a two-goal lead late in the game, before the Bombers hit back to level the scores in the dying stages.But just when the Bombers looked like playing in their first draw since they finished level with Tasmania in round seven, 2003, Smith stepped up for Gold Coast to kick his match-winning point.Bachar Houli was named Bendigo’s best player, while David Myers, Stewart Crameri, Michael James and captain James Flaherty also played fine games.Ben Duscher, Kyle Hardingham, Mark Williams and Houli all kicked two goals apiece for Bendigo.The Bombers’ season continues this Saturday against Werribee.The game is fixtured for the Queen Elizabeth Oval, but will be subject to the condition of its surface.The Bombers have been forced to transfer their past two QEO home games to Windy Hill because the surface hasn’t been deemed satisfactory for VFL.Meanwhile, Essendon assistant Gary O’Donnell yesterday said senior coach Matthew Knights was holding up well after the Dons’ loss to West Coast on Saturday night.Essendon lost to the 16th-placed Eagles by 32 points at Etihad Stadium, which is bound to increase the pressure this week on the under-siege Knights.Knights is in his third season as Essendon coach.Before his appointment as Kevin Sheedy’s replacement in 2008, Knights coached Bendigo for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 VFL seasons, winning 24 of 58 games.Essendon has lost its past six games, with its drop in form mirroring that of Bendigo, which earlier in the season had been 5-1.“He (Knights) is doing quite well,’’ O’Donnell told radio station 3AW.“We all take responsibility for where we are at the moment... the players, assistant coaches, senior coach.“We’re not going to shy away from where we are; we’re not going to run away and hide either. We’re going to work hard and face this head on and make sure we’re doing everything possible to turn things around from where they are right now.’’