Robbie control sinks Jets

Robbie Kruse made himself an irresistible Asian Cup prospect with a dazzling display in Melbourne's 2-1 win over Newcastle on Monday evening that featured a late twist.

Desperate to find a response to last week's shock 4-0 reverse in Wellington, Newcastle fought back from a goal down and looked to have a draw in the bag.

But some sensational individual skills from Kruse set up Ricardinho for the winner in the 90th minute, sending AAMI Park into raptures and giving Holger Osieck every reason to revise his Socceroos squad for Qatar.

Osieck is due to name his squad on Tuesday for the January 7-29 tournament, and Kruse must surely be a strong chance to join A-League stalwarts Jason Culina and Matt McKay on the plane to the Middle East.

The former Roar youngster wrong-footed two Jets defenders with three sets of turns and spins before squaring the ball for a tap-in to his Brazilian strike partner, keeping Melbourne's bid for finals football well and truly alive.

Kruse's creativity came just five minutes after he had missed his own golden opportunity to score after neat lead-up from Ricardinho down the right hand side - missing the target from close range.

But the 22-year-old's new-found penchant for seizing the big moment was not lost on Victory coach Ernie Merrick, especially without injured striker Archie Thompson and three other regular players plus so much at stake.

"I think a little bit of Archie's rubbed off on Robbie," Merrick said.

"He's much stronger, he's tougher, he doesn't get knocked off the ball so easily, I can't praise him enough. He's come a long way in a short period of time.

"It was a wee bit of magic at the end. I don't know how many times he beat either the same player twice or another player.

"Sometimes you think it's going to take something a bit special to break the deadlock and we produced it when we needed to."

A fighting performance from the Jets will give Branko Culina hope his side can continue to defy belief and squeeze into a play-off spot, despite now having lost twice in a row after a seven-match unbeaten run.

"It's very frustrating and disappointing, but it's a lesson for us you can't switch off for moments in the game," Culina said.

Kruse was influential not just in the lead-up to the winner but throughout the course of the match, continuing a brilliant individual season that will surely invite offers from abroad.

"The crowd... every week the Victory fans come out in their groups and it's a wonderful atmosphere here tonight," Kruse told Fox Sports.

"I think it got us over the line.

"We didn't have the best first half of the season, so we really want to start winning and I think tonight was a great example of the courage the boys show."

A thunderbolt midway through the first half from Carlos Hernandez put Melbourne on track for three points as the South American playmaker seemingly conjured something from nothing.

He turned two defenders inside out near halfway, before trying his luck from fully 35 yards and the pace and swerve of Hernandez's fierce strike had Ben Kennedy beaten on the line.

Ruben Zadkovich dragged Newcastle level on 54 minutes but Melbourne had more tricks in the bag and Kruse produced the rabbit with the move that set up Ricardinho for a simple finish.