NATHAN Burns is ready for the Socceroos.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That was the message from his A-League coach Ernie Merrick on Saturday night as Burns continued his rich run of form for A-League club Wellington Phoenix.
The Blayney native sparked a remarkable 3-1 comeback win over the Newcastle Jets and in doing so, took his tally for the 2014-15 season to eight goals from nine matches.
It is little wonder Merrick liked what he saw from the 26-year-old striker.
“I’ve been trying to sign Nathan for four years, since I was at [Melbourne] Victory, and even when he just came out of the Australian Institute of Sport, and I finally got my man,” Merrick said.
“I would think the Socceroos would be looking very closely at him because he is the A-League top scorer and is playing great football.”
Those comments back up Merrick’s statement from six days earlier after Burns scored the first hat-trick in Wellington’s history, the mentor stating: “I think today he wrote himself in. I reckon he’ll be in the Asian Cup squad the way he is going.”
The Socceroos will play Kuwait, Oman and South Korea in January on home soil as part of the Asian Cup, with coach Ange Postecoglou scheduled to name his squad at noon today.
While Burns has previous played for the Jets, in his two matches against them so far this season he has proved to be a major attacking threat.
The former Bathurst ’75-Western star scored two goals to lead Wellington to victory over the Jets in late October and at Hunter Stadium on Saturday night, he again found the back of the net.
That goal proved to be a turning point as the Phoenix scored three times in five minutes to post a come-from-behind victory and ensured the Jets remain winless after nine rounds.
The first half saw the Jets create plenty of chances and one of those – a 24th minute effort from Joel Griffiths – saw the hosts take the lead.
Wellington were unable to open their account before the break, but Burns did provide a nervous moment for the Jets in the 21st minute when his cross picked out Michael McGlinchey on the six-yard line. The shot was sent over the crossbar.
However, in the 73rd minute when Burns found himself with possession in the box after a nice ball from Rolieny Bonevacia he made no mistake.
The former Bathurst ’75-Western talent rounded Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy before slotting home to make it 1-all.
His effort lifted his team-mates and a minute later, McGlinchey found the mark to give the New Zealand outfit the lead.
The win was capped soon after as Roy Krishna fired his powerful strike into the top left corner of the net from the edge of the box to make it 3-1.
“Keeping Burns and Roy high was a crucial difference that allowed us to score three goals in five minutes,” Merrick said.