The Lions pried the game from the Crows’ grasp with two goals late in the third quarter and a devastating three-goal burst to start the last term.
But the foundations for the victory were laid in a brilliant four-quarter display from Power and a sublime second half performance by Brennan, when he was moved into the midfield.
"I thought Luke’s effort was nothing short of superb," Matthews said.
"He won the footy and used it well. You have to use it well against Adelaide because they get so many numbers back.
"Luke kept us in it partly early on and then when Jared Brennan joined him we had two midfielders really playing well.
"Jared’s contribution through the middle of the ground to get some impetus around the stoppages was critical. He had eight clearances and I would have thought all of them were in the second half."
Matthews was pleased with his side’s ability to bounce back from adversity in the space of a week, following a 10-goal loss to the Western Bulldogs which saw the Lions rarely in the hunt.
"It was a good result given where we were half time and even three-quarter time. It was a losable game and we ended up winning," he said.
"We played well tonight and won. Last week we didn’t play well enough to be in the contest.
"It’s very hard to score against Adelaide and, if you kick 10 or 12 goals, it’s a reasonable night. You just have to make sure they score less and we did that."
The Lions (8-5) now enter a run of four games against current bottom-eight sides – Melbourne, Essendon, West Coast and Richmond.
Matthews said he would not think beyond next week’s clash with the Demons, but admitted the Lions had to beat lower-ranked sides if they are to emerge as a genuine finals threat.
"I don’t look at the draw. The only people at the club who look at the draw are the people who arrange our travel and have to know in advance," Matthews said.
"But the fact is we will be playing a few teams below us on the ladder and, if we want to make anything of our season, we have to win the majority of those games."
