UNEARTHING A GALAXY OF STARS OF THE FUTURE
TALENTED teenagers Asabi Cummins and Niamh Leonard-Smith both made their senior debuts in the Geelong Galaxy United Reserves team last weekend in what was a historic occasion for the VPLW club.
Boosted by the talented duo, as well as under-17 players Lily Sanders, Camrynn Brown, Phoebe Vivian and Millie Chapman – who have also made senior debuts this season – the reserve grade team did exceptionally well to draw 2-2 with the previously equal-top Melbourne University.
Last Saturday night’s game at Hume Reserve was the first time this season the Students had dropped any points. In fact, this particular Melbourne Uni team had gone four years without losing a match.
The round 4 clash was played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Galaxy game, which took centre stage on the main pitch in front of a 200strong crowd at the newly unveiled clubrooms. Unfortunately, the firsts also dropped points for the first time this season, going down to Melbourne Uni 5-1.
The Reserves fixture was contested on pitch 2, at the same time as the men’s State League 1 fixture between Hume Reserve landlords Corio SC and Caroline Springs George Cross.
Captain Makayla Staehr (63’) and Abbey Small (89’) scored the goals for the home team, ensuring the Galaxy Reserves maintained their third spot on the competition standings.
Galaxy United president Marina Krasic was glowing in her praise for the talented crop of youngsters coming through the ranks at Geelong’s highest-ranked female club.
“It’s pleasing to see our NPL juniors improving and helping their teams achieve such strong performances,” Krasic said.
“The reserve grade team is providing opportunities for our juniors to build-up their match playing minutes and accelerate their footballing knowledge growth.”
Galaxy will play host to another high-flying team on Sunday, when they host South Yarra at Hume Reserve.