SYDNEY Swans coach John Longmire was again left to rue inaccurate goalkicking in his side's agonising one-point defeat to Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Crucially, the Swans missed a chance to put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack outside the top eight.

They had plenty of chances to win in the final term, but could only manage 2.9 from their goalscoring opportunities, allowing the Bombers to sneak home in a nail-biting finish.

Longmire cut a dejected figure after the match knowing they had let an opportunity slip.

"We were 10 points up with three-and-a-half minutes to go and we shouldn't have really lost from that point on," Longmire said.

"To kick 2.9 in the last quarter, we should have been further in front, there's no doubt about that.

"Then there were a couple of basic skill errors that we should have been better at and they were able to kick two quick goals and win the game."

From 18 games in 2011, the Swans have kicked more goals than behinds only six times.

They kicked a costly 6.14 in the loss to the Crows in round 15, while they also produced 9.21 in a win over Richmond and 11.18 in their opening round draw with Melbourne.

Asked if it was a frustrating trait, Longmire said: "It sure is.

"It's been something that we've worked at all year, but it's been an issue for us most of the year.

"If you work so hard to get into position to have a shot at goal and continually miss, it's frustrating.

"It's very hard to explain."

One man who was guilty of missed shots on goal was Swans co-captain Adam Goodes.

Goodes finished with 3.4, including a missed set shot after the siren that would have won the game.

But the Swans wouldn't have been in that position without the work of their skipper, who was one of the best players on the ground and finished with 29 possessions, six marks and five tackles.

"Probably hopeful," Longmire replied when asked his thoughts when Goodes was taking his final shot.

"I just thought he had an enormous game.

"He worked hard and it was a bit unfair on him missing that last one considering the work rate he put in for the whole game."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club