Essendon debutant Saad El-Hawli has inspired his side to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Port Adelaide on Thursday night.

The Bombers kicked the final four goals of the match to steal a 12-point win that appeared very unlikely after being outplayed for much of the night.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Saad El-Hawli’s inspiring first touch.

And El-Hawli played a huge part in the fightback despite starting the game as the substitute.

He had to wait until the last quarter to get his chance but made an immediate impact.

With Port leading by 11 points, the ball was in their forward line when El-Hawli pounced, gathering his first possession before quickly getting the ball as he sprinted through the middle of the field at top speed.

He then kicked forward with the ball spilling to Nic Martin, who kicked truly and got the crowd up on its feet.

With the momentum behind them, the Bombers stormed home to victory.

Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor praised El-Hawli for inspiring his team.

“This man here started all with his first two possessions of his career. He got this game going to the point where the Bombers of kicked four in a row,” he said.

“Make no mistake, the electricity derived from this man here that got things in motion. Something they lacked all game.

“No doubt in my mind that Saad El-Hawli came on and generated the electricity that was otherwise missing from the Bombers for most of the night.”

Speaking to Channel 7 after the match, El-Hawli said it was a dream come true.

“It is everything I could have expected and more,” he said.

“Three-quarter time all the boys were encouraging me to take the game on because the opposition was tired. Once I got the ball I just put the jets on,” he added of his electric first touch.

El-Hawli, who was a used-car salesman, joined the Bombers through last year’s mid-season draft.

A devout Muslim, El-Hawli graduated from the Bachar Houli Foundation and played in the VFL for two years before earning his shot.

“A shout-out to all the Muslims across the community and country, I know it’s the blessed month of Ramadan and thank you for all your support, thank you to the community back at home, and a shout-out to everyone who helped me along the journey,” he told Channel 7 in the rooms after the match.

Essendon’s victory piled fresh pressure on the Power and coach Ken Hinkley, who is in his final season before handing over to senior assistant coach Josh Carr.

While young guns Nate Caddy (two goals) and Isaac Kako had their moments, Essendon’s midfield stepped up late.

Bombers skipper Zach Merrett (34 disposals) was typically prolific, while Sam Durham (28 touches), Xavier Duursma (29) and Dylan Shiel all had plenty of the ball.

Power forward Mitch Georgiades stood tall early with two first-quarter goals and his impressive aerial work, including a big hanger on the wing in the second quarter.

The big man threatened to break the game open and could have, but for his poor kicking and was quieter when Zach Reid handled him in the second half.

Port’s Jase Burgoyne (27 disposals) racked up plenty of the ball off half-back, while Ollie Wines (31 disposals) was tough, with support from Christian Moraes (27 touches), and Aliir Aliir fought hard down back.

The Bombers were frenetic but rushed early and lacked composure going forward.

Brad Scott’s charges dominated chances without reward and trailed by a goal at quarter-time.

Jade Gresham gave Essendon a crucial steadying goal just before the half-time siren to cut Port’s lead to three points

Port led by six at three-quarter time and early in the final term, Jason Horne-Francis brilliantly snatched the ball out of the air with one hand then drilled a terrific running goal to extend the lead to 11.

Then, El-Hawli, freshly substituted into the game, sparked Essendon and brought the game to life.

Mason Redman levelled the scores with a thumping long bomb, before Caddy kicked two points to snatch the lead.

Then, Kako danced around the Power defence before hitting up Caddy to extend the lead to eight.

Draper booted his second and the Bombers held on.

- With AAP