Bren O'Brien at Etihad Stadium
himself with the fourth goal, laying off for Kruse who then found Thompson, who netted with a powerful shot.
With 20 minutes to go, Brown came close to getting Gold Coast off the mark, forcing a good save from an otherwise untroubled Mitch Langerak, while a frustrated Culina could only shoot over late in the match.
Meanwhile, Melbourne continued to push for a fifth goal and while that endeavour came to naught it still had its biggest win of the season and its first clean sheet at home.
Melbourne Victory 4 (Kruse 38, Ward 45, Thompson 54, 68)
Gold Coast United 0
Crowd: 20,537 at Etihad Stadium