https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_ ... w_Zealand)
PREVIEW: East Coast Bays riding high in the Northern League
https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/202 ... league-28/
East Coast Bays are increasingly looking like the real deal after five rounds of the Northern League. They’ve moved into second place, joining leaders Birkenhead United as the only sides still unbeaten in the competition.
But it hasn’t happened overnight. They won promotion to the Dettol-sponsored league in 2023, finishing 9th in 2024 and rising to 6th last year, missing qualification to the men’s National League by four points.
Since then, they appear to have improved further, and in Lithuanian forward Marius Zabarauskas, Bays appear to have landed a gem (see Player to Watch).
He arrived in New Zealand from Lithuania late last year, joining East Coast Bays as a football development officer and helping Callum Simmonds lead the club’s talent development programme. Zabarauskas (29) holds a UEFA B Licence.
A former Lithuania U-17 international, he played for FK Ekranas, FK Transinvest, and Ateitis Vilnius in his home country. Up front for Bays, he’s been a revelation, scoring five goals in as many rounds, including a first-half double in Bays’ 4-2 win against Fencibles United last weekend.
He now leads the Northern League Golden Boot table, and it’ll be no surprise if he’s still there or thereabouts at season’s end.
Golden Boot
5 — Marius Zabarauskas (East Coast Bays).
4 — Ryan Clarke (Fencibles United), Luis Hamblin (Melville United).
3 — Campbell Higgins (Tauranga City), Luke Flowerdew (Auckland United), Ronaldo Lopez Munoz (Fencibles United), Ryan Watson (Western Springs).