The Bombers turned a 14-point half-time deficit into a 13-point lead by the final change with a six-goal term, and they held onto the lead to win by eight points on Saturday night.
Despite the defeat, the club's fifth this season and second by under 10 points, McCartney believed the result showed his young side was progressing in the right fashion.
"[Essendon] lifted and we probably needed to deal with the game better, which is a bit of a message that I've had on the board most of the night with the players," he said.
"In the last two weeks we've been sideswiped in different ways.
"All I know is, if we keep working hard with our players, and they keep applying pretty much the effort and intensity they gave us tonight in just having a good crack, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win some games."
Five talking points: Essendon v Western Bulldogs
Pressed on when the Bulldogs will start to string together consistent performances, and take the next step as a developing side of the competition, McCartney offered no timeframe.
He did, however, point to evergreen Essendon defender Dustin Fletcher as the type of competitor he wanted at his club, following Fletcher's best afield display against the Dogs.
"I'm disappointed we lost, and I know a lot of our people are, and so are our players. But I would much rather be in games all day than get knocked over and the white flag going up really early. We're going to keep at it," he said.
"I'm a resilient character, our coaching group's a resilient group of people, and we're going to keep looking for players who want to win as much as Dustin Fletcher does and are prepared to do anything to get over the line.
"But at the same time use their brains to see what the game needs."
McCartney said the Bombers took their opportunities better, but was pleased with his team's capacity to thrive in some of their focus areas: contested possessions, defending the middle of the ground, and increasing inside-50 entries.
He was also enthused by Jake Stringer's performance, with the No.5 draft pick holding down a role in defence and also pushing forward at times.
The second-year player entered his AFL career on the back of a badly broken leg, but put together one of his most consistent games so far, with 18 disposals and a goal.
"He showed a fair bit. It hasn't been easy for him coming in and dealing with that leg injury.
"They're all going to be good players our young boys, provided they work hard and keep their feet on the ground and listen to the right people," McCartney said.
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
