By Marcus Uhe
The rise of former Dandenong Thunder star Medin Memeti has reached new heights in recent weeks with the 17-year-old’s emergence into A-League prominence.
The Young Socceroo and graduate of Melbourne City’s Academy program backed up his first senior A-League match for City against Western United on Monday 4 November by scoring last Sunday, 10 November against Perth Glory in his first start for the club and at A-League level.
With City experiencing a glutton of injuries early in the A-League season, Aruelio Vidmar called Memeti’s number to replace Socceroo Marco Tilio in the first half against Western in round three when the speedy attacker was forced from the field with a hamstring tendon injury.
He played 38 minutes before making way for Benjamin Dunbar, but started for Vidmar’s side six days later in Perth, after starting striker Andrew Nabbout was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
A pair of chances went begging in the first half, but late in the first 45 he made his first major impact by assisting Steven Ugarkovic for his second goal.
Memeti was involved in the build up with multiple touches running down the centre of the pitch before playing Ugarkovic in for the strike to put City up 2-0 on the road.
He played the full 90 minutes and was rewarded for his effort with a goal in the 88th minute to put the finishing touches on a 5-0 thrashing, sneaking behind the Glory’s defensive line and finishing with his right foot off a low Kavian Rahmani cross, a fellow City Academy graduate.
The nephew of re-elected Greater Dandenong councillor Jim Memeti signed his first senior contract back in July, just weeks after his 17th birthday, and has been a goalscoring force for City’s National Premier League (NPL) side, having made his senior debut in Australia Cup play in 2023.
He quickly made a name for himself on debut for City’s senior Academy team as a 15-year-old, when he scored a hat-trick in the final 30 minutes of playing time to complete a remarkable 3-2 win over Brunswick Juventus, having trailed 0-2 when he was substituted onto the pitch late in the second half.
With Nabbout ruled-out for the remainder of the A-League season and Tilio joining him on the sidelines for the next month, expect opportunities to present themselves for Memeti to become a fixture in the City’s attacking third.
City next hosts Western Sydney on Saturday 30 November.
