How Melbourne City star’s Shepparton parents surprised him on debut

Thrust into the action following an injury to Socceroos star Patrick Beach, the youngster from Shepparton deputized expertly - keeping a clean sheet on his first ever league start.

Now, the Goulburn Valley sensation has opened up on the emotional moment when his mum and dad made an unexpected trip to City’s home ground in order to cheer him on from the stands.

Having found out a short notice that he would be starting net for the Western Sydney clash, Nieuwenhuizen had assumed that his parents would be forced to miss his big day.

Speaking on the Shepparton News Meets... podcast, he recalled being informed by the City goalkeeper coach that he would be starting in the A-League the day before the clash via a text message, which simply read “you play”.

“The head coach didn’t actually speak to me the day before,” the stopper said, recalling his interactions with boss Aurelio Vidmar.

“He later said ‘I didn’t know whether to tell you’ but it didn’t need a big conversation, it’s my job and you’ve got to be ready to go to work so it was just a case of [Vidmar] saying ‘you’re playing, do your job’.”

Nieuwenhuizen first joined the City Academy back in 2019, with his successful recovery from an ACL injury in the past year meaning his A-League bow felt even more sweet.

“My overriding feeling was I was just happy - that sense that I’d finally achieved what I’d been working for over the past six years to play a game for the first team,” the prospect said.

Nieuwenhuizen then remembered a quick dash to ensure that his loved ones were informed that the day of his A-League debut had finally arrived.

However, with his family enjoying a holiday in Queensland at the time of the game, it appeared that his parents would miss out on seeing their boy finally achieve his lifelong dream.

“I told my girlfriend straight away but she was at work so she messaged me to say ‘congratulations, that’s awesome’,” he said.

“But my parents were away in Queensland for Easter so I didn’t think they were coming down and obviously I called them and my mum said ‘I’m crying tears into my Aperol Spritz’.

“I didn’t know they were coming to the game and I went into it thinking they weren’t there.

“After the game, I went across and my mum, dad and my brother and sister were all there and I was like ‘oh wow’, I didn’t expect it.

“In that moment, when my parents couldn’t be there, it was pretty sad but it was also quite nice, on the other hand that I had so many other people there for me - my girlfriend and her parents, my housemates and their partners, cousins, uncles, aunts.”

Alongside those who from Shepparton to witness the landmark occasion, Nieuwenhuizen also expressed gratitude towards those who sent him their well-wishes following his debut.

“I think that was quite nice as there’s a whole lot of people back in Shepparton, the GV Suns and down in Melbourne who have helped me to get where I am now.

“My screen time has definitely been up replying to messages, I don’t think my phone has buzzed so much in a 24 hour period,” he said.

The former GV Suns prodigy retained his place in the side for City’s next home game too, playing another full 90 minutes against Central Coast Mariners in a 3-1 victory.

Although Beach returned to the starting XI for the 2-0 home win over Wellington Phoenix, Nieuwenhuizen’s achievements will not be forgotten about quickly in his hometown of Shepparton.

You can listen to Episode 3 of the Shepparton News Meets... podcast on May 5 on our website or on all major streaming services, as well as previous editions with Brooklyn Andresen and Mietta Innes-Irons.