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NEDAS Maciulaitis hopes to be the latest in a long line of rough diamonds unearthed and polished by Coleraine boss Oran Kearney.
The 20-year-old Lithuanian has made a big impact at the club since he was headhunted in August - his energy, pace and footwork so impressing the Showgrounds chief that, after playing against the Bannsiders for Annagh United in the BETMCLEAN League Cup on the Tuesday, he was stripping out for them three days later in a league game at Glenavon on the Friday.
Much like his new team-mates Gareth McConaghie, Ian Parkhill and James McLaughlin (all circled above), who were also expertly plucked from the lower leagues by the Bannsiders chief, Maciulaitis has made the step up look effortless. Indeed, few managers can rival Kearney's record for talent-spotting, whose success in mining the lower leagues also includes the acquisition of the likes of Stephen O'Donnell and Aaron Traynor.
This is not Maciulaitis' first foray into the Irish League's top flight, however.
Five years ago, he burst onto the scene as a precocious 15-year-old at his hometown club Portadown under Ronnie McFall, scoring his first Senior goal against Bangor in the cup.
But he struggled to build on that early promise with a combination of factors, most conspicuously a lack of playing time at first Dundalk and then Portadown last season, prompting his decision to join Annagh United where he had more modest ambitions, namely just to rediscover his love for the game again. And how fateful that move turned out to be.
"Straight after the game against Coleraine, Oran phoned me and told...