Mexican maestro shines for

Ulises Davila is doing his best to fill the void left by departed stars Roy Krishna and Sarpreet Singh.

On the same day Singh earned a promotion to Bayern Munich’s first team, Davila was taking centre stage at Westpac Stadium, scoring a goal and assisting on another to guide Wellington Phoenix to their first win of the A-League season.

Davila produced his best performance since joining the Phoenix on a two-year deal, playing a one-two with David Ball at a corner, whipping in a cross for Steven Taylor to thump home, before rifling a left-footed shot from the edge of the box to secure a much-needed 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar.

‘‘I saw the space to play to Bally [David Ball] but the defenders just kept going back, giving me the space so I just shoot,’’ Davila said, dissecting his impressive second-half strike. ‘‘I’m happy, for sure the goal, but more for the winning of the game.

‘‘That’s what we were waiting for. We’ve worked hard in the last games and finally we have got the three points.’’

Davila’s goal was his fourth in five games, the Mexican maestro starting to show more than just glimpses of the potential that saw Premier League giants Chelsea sign him on a five-year deal in

2011.

‘‘At the start there were a lot of question marks about Ulises but you can see the quality he brings, and he’s going to grow as we play more games,’’ coach Ufuk Talay said. ‘‘He scored again and he was probably one of our best players on the park.’’

After a short spell in India, the

28-year-old was lured to Wellington by the responsibility of being a ‘‘big player’’. Having lost top scorers Krishna, Singh and David Williams in the off-season, the club was in desperate need of a replacement with similar matchwinning qualities.

While the Premier League never worked out – Davila was unable to secure a visa to play in England – he is beginning to show

‘‘At the start there were a lot of question marks about Ulises but you can see the quality he brings.’’

Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay

on Ulises Davila

he can have a real impact in the A-League, particularly now he is playing in his preferred position as a No 10, in behind striker Ball in a tweaked 4-2-3-1 formation.

‘‘All my career I played there, the No 10 behind the striker, so I feel very comfortable there,’’ Davila said. ‘‘But I also do what the coach says and I don’t have a problem playing on the wing.

‘‘I came for a big role, I want to have a big role, there’s a lot of very good players but when Ufuk and all the staff give me the confidence, I want to give it back with good games and I hope there’s a lot more goals to come.’’

Davila said the set-piece play that led to Taylor’s early breakthrough was not a planned routine. He simply saw Ball free on the edge of the area, called for a quick one-two before putting it on a plate for his captain, who was another standout performer.

‘‘It wasn’t a play that we worked during the week. I just played with Bally and put the ball in the box.’’

Davila struck the back of the net again in the second half but