The mood in the Galaxy camp is sky high following a 2-0 defeat of Bulleen last Sunday, according to Greater Geelong midfielder Melissa Taranto.
She said that the atmosphere amongst the squad was buoyant after the big win over the league powerhouses, which also counted as the Lions’ first defeat of the season.
“We’re so happy. I think everyone has worked really hard and really well and it paid off,” Taranto admitted.
“We put away two for once, so I think everyone’s really happy – stoked.”
One aspect in particular that shone for Galaxy on Sunday was their defensive pressure and solidity, even more impressive considering they had been decimated by injury in the lead-up.
Annabel Martin, Sadie Murphy, Sarah Sumner and Jess Tay all lined up in place of Kat Smith and Sky Jensen, and not all in their natural positions.
They were able to hold off the usually clinical Bulleen, who up to this point had not been restricted to a clean sheet all season.
“We have been working on it [defence], but actually we’ve had a few centre backs injured, so a lot of the girls had to step up that aren’t even centre backs,” Taranto said.
“I’m really proud of them, they worked really hard.”
On the flipside, the win also represented the first time all season that Galaxy had scored multiple goals in a game, and Taranto was equally as pleased with Geelong’s attacking efforts.
She was able to net her first strike of the season, as did Laura Spiranovic since her return from injury.
Taranto was ecstatic with her performance on the night, forming her usual strong partnership with sister Adriana in the middle of the park.
“Very pleased. I think Spiz [Laura Spiranovic] worked really hard up there, she had five players around her all the time, so we tried to just work off her and we finally put two away, so [I’m] very happy.” Taranto revealed.
“I’m very happy, I always think I can do a bit better at the end, but pleased with it [the performance]” she said.
She says that the win over the previously undefeated Bulleen side would give Galaxy a huge confidence boost going forward, and she has no doubt that her side has the mentality required to continue to play like they did against the Lions.
“Heaps [of confidence]. I just said to the girls if we play like that and work that hard every game, this is what we’ll get out of it.” she said.
“They’re a great team, but we knew that we could do it, and I think that if we can do that for the rest of the season, then we will be up there with the high teams.”
Galaxy’s next test comes at home against Southern United, who notched their first point of the season against Heidelberg, with the clash acting as the league’s distance derby due to almost 150km separating the two clubs by car.
Image: Graeme Furlong