Goals get Galaxy first win
AFTER three weeks of disappointment, Geelong Galaxy delivered on Saturday night.
Hosting Box Hill United, the Galaxy produced its finest performance of the season at Banyul Warri Reserve to win 2-1.
Caitlin Pickett drew first blood for the home side in the 30th minute before Lujeyn Al-Huneidi sealed a confidence-boosting victory with a neat strike in the 74th.
Galaxy coach Kat Smith said she knew it was coming.
“The teams that we played (in the first three weeks) are what I anticipate top four sides and they weren’t easy teams, nor were we easily beaten in those three games,” she said.
“We had positive signs but we had to work on areas where teams were exploiting us. We were able to identify that pattern and, barring a dubious decision awarded to Box Hill and a fairly well taken free kick, we pretty much held out Box Hill.
“And to then get a strike at the other end with Lu Lu AlHuneidi, we were able to get the win.
“She’s got a very forceful strike and she got herself in a good position and took the chance.
“That’s what we spoke about during the week, taking our chances.”
Smith said the group’s confidence was growing week by week.
“As you could expect, it was a different vibe after the game, and there’s been a lot of talk about building momentum in training, but not everyone sees that until there’s results on the board,” Smith said.
“So for the girls, they need that reward. That’s what they work towards during the week and they’ve been working really hard.
“It’s been a rough three weeks to start with, but with points on the board, we can talk about that momentum that’s building and we need to keep winning games.”