Melbourne City have announced the signing of goalkeeper Dakota Ochsenham on an injury-replacement contract after losing James Nieuwenhuizen to an ACL injury.
The 25-year-old joins City on a deal through to January 2026, arriving from NPL South Australia side FK Beograd, with Nieuwenhuizen ruled out for the season after what the club called ‘an unfortunate accident at home’.
Ochsenham spent two seasons on the books of Adelaide United between 2019 and 2021, but didn’t make an appearance for the Reds.
He also won two NPLM SA Championships with Adelaide City and was named the competition’s Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022.
The shot-stopper trained with City, who have been tracking him close in recent years, during the 2022-23 campaign.
“Widely regarded as one of the top-performing goalkeepers outside the A-Leagues, he brings a commanding presence in the air and strong distribution — attributes well suited to City’s style of play,” City’s release read.
Ochsenham linked up with Aurelio Vidmar’s side earlier this week and is available for selection for this weekend’s clash against Western Sydney Wanderers.
“Obviously, we needed another keeper, and we were searching for one, the right person, character wise,” head coach Aurelio Vidmar explained in his pre-match press conference.
“Secondly, the right person who can be close enough to playing our style, and someone who’s a little bit more mature aged.
“And they were the three factors, really, and, and he fit the bill, you know, a guy who was available.
“We looked at a couple of guys here at NPL level in Victoria, but they couldn’t come across and and Dakota could.
“He’s a mature age player, he’s played over 100 games of NPL in Adelaide.
“We know him well, very, very good character, good work ethic. So all those sort of things combined helped us make that decision.”
