Alex’s Brosque’s 34th minute goal ensured Melbourne complete the Pre-Season Cup in last place, the team’s worst result in three attempts, but Merrick believes the performance was the Victory’s best of the tournament.

“We did great, I’m really happy with the performance in terms of the passing and the confidence of the team,” he said.

“I don’t think we’ll ever play such a high quality game and not score again. We were good in the first half and even better in the second, and I did take a lot from that.

"The worst thing that could have happened is if we played badly and won 1-0.”

With the A-League kick-off only two weeks away, Merrick revealed he is close to settling on his first eleven.

However, after a stellar display last night, on-loan Benfica player Kaz Patafta staked his claim for a starting berth and forced Merrick to rethink his options, potentially at the expense of star recruit Carlos Hernandez.

Merrick said: “Kaz has certainly given me a challenge because he had an outstanding game when he came on in the second half.

“He did a great job when he came on with some of his through balls and he hit the crossbar, but then every time he gets match time or in a training session, he has come on in leaps and bounds.”

Hernandez arrived in Melbourne in less than peak condition, and is battling a race against time to be fully fit for round one in Wellington.

But his underwhelming performances in the pre-season haven’t got Merrick worried yet.

“We have no concerns whatsoever with Carlos as it’s always been a fitness thing,” he said.

“You can see the touches, the through balls but he just needs to lose more weight and get fitter, and of course that will be taken into account when selecting the first eleven.

"But we’ve wanted to play him as much as possible and he has certainly done very well.”