By Marcus Uhe
A new football stadium in Dandenong forms part of former Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong Jim Memeti’s vision for an expanded Dandenong Derby in the National Premier League in the coming years.
Frank Holohan Soccer Complex will be packed to the rafters on Friday night as Dandenong City welcomes Dandenong Thunder for a Dandenong Derby for the first time since 2022.
In a city like Melbourne dominated by Australian Rules, Dandenong is undoubtedly one of Melbourne’s football hotspots, boasting more teams in the Football Federation of Victoria than any other municipality according to Memeti.
Having impressed former A-League great Besart Berisha with crowd numbers during a previous fixture, Memeti wants to see the occasion develop, in line with the passion for the game in the community.
“I remember a couple of years ago, (Besart) Berisha came to watch one of the Derby’s and he couldn’t believe it,” Memeti said.
“He told me ‘you get this many people at games? We only get 1000 at Western United games’.
“It definitely can grow, it can get to 4-5000 people.
“Hopefully in the not-to-distant future, we can build a stadium and hopefully the Derby can grow bigger, and they can play out of the big stadium in Dandenong.”
Up for grabs will not only be three points, but the Memeti Cup, named after Memeti himself.
Thunder has a stranglehold over City in the most recent contests, having not suffered a defeat since the cup was created back in 2016.
Thunder has won six of the last 10 contests, with four ending in draws.
The last contest back in June 2022 finished 3-1 in Thunder’s favour.
Even in 2019, when City finished seventh on the table and the Thunder was forced to stave-off a relegation threat, a second-half comeback saw Thunder snatched the points 4-3 at Frank Holohan, before holding City to a 1-1 draw in the season’s second fixture.
While unable to attend the fixture, Memeti is excited for the occasion, and bouyed by City’s promising start to the new season.
“The NPL is not the same when Dandenong City is not in the league,” he said.
“I think it’s very good and very encouraging that (City) got promoted, and are doing well so far.”
Kick-off is at 7.45pm on Friday night.
