Ernie Merrick paid in-form striker Robbie Kruse the ultimate compliment after he’d helped Melbourne Victory continue their amazing winning streak against Adelaide United on Friday night, comparing him favourably with Archie Thompson.
Thompson has been almost without peer at the two-time Hyundai A-League championship-winning club over the past five seasons, his record highlighted in no small part by the five goals he bagged in the 6-0 demolition of the Reds in the 2006/07 Grand Final.
But with Thompson still on the comeback trail after suffering a serious knee injury in last season’s decider, Kruse has been handed a lot more responsibility in the Victory attack and has relished the challenge.
So well has he been playing that he has now scored four goals in as many games and five in all so far this season, although a joking Merrick said he hasn’t been entirely happy with Kruse’s output in the past fortnight.
“He’s on fire Robbie (but) he keeps letting me down though, he’s told me (before) the last two games he’ll score two goals and he’s only scored one,” Merrick said with a laugh after the win at Etihad Stadium.
“But he’s playing terrific football and it’s great to see someone resurrect his career and go from being a winger to a goal-scorer.”
“He’s really thrived in our environment which is a credit to the players as well as the support staff.”
Merrick added that the biggest confirmation of Kruse’s standing up forward was his desire to keep banging in the goals in the final stages against Adelaide United even though he perhaps should have laid the ball off to team-mates in better positions, a similarity he shares with Thompson.
“He probably got a bit greedy at the end … but I don’t mind that in strikers, I think that’s an important trait,” Merrick added.
“If he starts passing off in the box then he’s not really a striker, so he’s getting more like Archie every day.”
While Merrick is hopeful that the former Brisbane Roar star is enjoying himself enough to commit his future to the club beyond his current deal, which expires at season’s end, Kruse himself was quick to deflect the spotlight from himself to those around him.
“Yeah I do, I love playing here at Melbourne Victory and I can’t thank the coaching staff and the players enough for the stuff they’ve done for me and I’m really enjoying it,” Kruse said.
“I get a lot of great service like Ernie said and I’ve got to thank the players, everyone works hard and in the end it’s a collective victory.”
The 22-year-old says his confidence is so high at present that anything less than getting on the scoresheet proves a frustrating experience.
“I’m finally going into games now wanting to score goals and I feel if I come off without scoring I’m really disappointed no matter the result,” he said.
“I think that is a striker’s mentality and Ernie and the coaching staff have been drumming that into me.”
“My confidence is high and I just want to keep scoring goals,”
“I was getting into some decent positions, I probably could’ve had another one or two there at the end there (and) I was disappointed to not stay on and get another one.”
