City Held At Bay

Determined to bounce back from consecutive league defeats, the Navy Blues struck first through Myer Bevan, who found the net in the 18th minute after a well-crafted setup by Dylan Manickum inside the box. Bevan’s close-range effort was judged to have crossed the goal line despite protests from the home crowd.

However, East Coast Bays responded before half-time, with James Edgeler rising at the far post to nod home from a corner, sending the sides into the break on level terms.

With 20 minutes remaining, the hosts took the lead through Ryusei Ishibashi, igniting celebrations from the Bay City Park faithful. But Auckland City answered swiftly as Haris Zeb unleashed a powerful strike that rocketed into the roof of the net, ensuring a tense final stretch.

The defending champions pressed hard for a winner, but East Coast Bays showed defensive resilience to hold firm. Deep into injury time, the home crowd erupted when the ball hit Auckland City’s net following a swift counterattack—only for celebrations to be cut short by the assistant referee’s offside flag.

The match also marked a significant milestone for vice-captain Adam Mitchell, who made his 172nd appearance for Auckland City FC, surpassing club legend and assistant coach Ivan Vicelich (171 matches) to move into sixth place on the club’s all-time appearance record.

Reflecting on the match, Mitchell acknowledged the team’s recent struggles but remained optimistic:

“We’re in a little bit of a slump at the moment, but that’s football—ups and downs. What goes down must come back up, and we’ve got another game on Wednesday, which is a great chance to turn things around.”

The Navy Blues will be back in action on Wednesday night, facing Manurewa AFC under lights at the Croatian Club as they look to regain momentum.

Ends

Match Result
Northern League 10
Saturday, 17 May, Bay City Park
East Coast Bays AFC: 2 (James EDGELER 33’, Ryusei ISHIBASHI 70’)
Auckland City FC: 2 (Myer BEVAN 18’, Haris ZEB 81’)

HT: 1-1

AC:  24. Nathan GARROW  (GK), 2. Mario ILICH (C), 3. Adam MITCHELL (C), 4. Christian GRAY, 7. Myer BEVAN, 10. Dylan MANICKUM, (11. Ryan DE VRIES 67’), 14. Jordan VALE, (22. Tong ZHOU 67’), 19. Dylan CONNOLLY,  23. Alfie ROGERS, (13. Nathan LOBO 77’), 27. Haris ZEB, 28. Jackson MANUEL (21. Matt ELLIS 77’)

SUBS NOT USED:  18. Areya PRASAD (GK) 

HEAD COACH: Paul POSA
ASSISTANT COACH: Ivan VICELICH
ASSISTANT COACH: Adria CASALS
GK COACH: Jonas HOFFMANN
TEAM MANAGER: Keith COTON
PHYSIOTHERAPIST: Matt PAYNE