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Starting for the first time in Victory colours after two appearances off the bench, Mata found the back of the net in the second-half on Friday night to seal his team’s 2-0 win over Perth Glory at HBF Park. “I enjoyed it – it’s been some time since I played from the beginning,” the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner told Paramount Plus after his first A-League start since playing from the opening whistle in his former club Western Sydney’s 1-0 loss to Auckland FC on January 26. “I tried my best to train as hard as I could since I arrived at the club. “It was really important for us to come here and play good, play a professional performance, (keep a) clean sheet and also get the three points. “Now we’re thinking about Melbourne City. I’m looking forward to my first Melbourne derby.” Victory coach Arthur Diles, who was pleased with his team’s “positive” reaction to the previous week’s 5-2 loss to Newcastle, said Mata was the “difference” in Perth. “He enjoys playing football, he loves playing football, and we want to provide an environment for him to enjoy his football and to contribute to the team,” Diles said of the 37-year-old former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder. “He scored a great goal and that’s probably the difference in the match … (but) it wasn’t just his goal or his touches on the ball, it was his workrate as well. “He worked really hard. That shows he’s a team player. It’s not about himself, and that’s the key.” Diles’ men will now bid for back-to-back wins when they meet City next weekend at AAMI Park in a rematch of last season’s decider, which City won 1-0. City’s title defence continued with a dour 0-0 draw in Brisbane on Friday night against the Roar, with Mathew Leckie failing to finish the game after suffering a hamstring injury. The Socceroos stalwart has been ruled out of City’s AFC Champions League Elite clash in Japan on Tuesday night against Machida Zelvia. Leckie returned to Melbourne on Saturday, while the rest of City’s squad flew from Brisbane to Japan. City coach Aurelio Vidmar was hopeful that skipper Aziz Behich, who didn’t play on Friday night and also won’t play on Tuesday, would be fit for the battle with the Victory. “He was just cranky and grumpy with everything on his body, so hopefully he’s right for (the derby),” Vidmar said. “We’ll just have to wait to see when we come back from Japan.”
