Al Wahda hitman Sebastian Tagliabue targets more goals and Arabian Gulf League title

Denzil Pinto 23:01 09/01/2018
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  • Sebastian Tagliabue (l) is the leading goalscorer in the AGL this season.

    Sebastian Tagliabue issued a stark warning to the rest of the Arabian Gulf League by vowing there are plenty more goals to come from him as he aims to fire Al Wahda to title glory – on a night the Argentine moved into clear third place on UAE football’s all-time top scorers’ list in the professional era.

    Tagliabue was in sensational form in the Abu Dhabi derby on Monday, netting a hat-trick in the Clarets’ 4-2 win over champions Al Jazira at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.

    That brought his tally for the season to 17 goals in all competitions, sitting top of the Arabian Gulf Cup with six strikes and one behind Al Wasl hotshot Fabio De Lima on 11 in the AGL charts.

    His prolific form means Wahda go into the second half of the season still in contention to earn silverware. The Clarets sit third in the AGL, two points behind joint-leaders Wasl and Al Ain, and are on the verge of reaching the semi-finals of the AG Cup following their 2-1 first-leg win over the Boss last month.

    With the AFC Champions League beginning next month, as well as their President’s Cup defence, Wahda face a busy schedule in the next six months.

    But Tagliabue – who now has 98 AGL goals, three behind former Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan, and scored his eighth league hat-trick, joint most in the professional era with Ali Mabkhout – is confident of continuing his fine form, although he would be happy if his goals rewarded him with the ultimate prize in UAE football.

    “I think so (plenty of more goals), said the 32-year-old. “It’s my first game of 2018 and we’re in third place.  I try to win as many games and my tallies have shown I’m having a good season. Winning the golden boot will be great but I want to win the league title and become a champion. If I win the golden boot that would be perfect.

    “We are in a good position and two points behind the leaders but there’s still more matches to play which I hope we can win.”

    Coach Laurentiu Reghecampf praised the Argentine, crediting the whole team for creating the chances for their stand-in skipper.

    “I’m very happy that he scored three and was given many chances to score,” said the Romanian, who recently extended his stay at Al Nayhan Stadium until the end of 2019 season. “That is the work of all the players which we work on in training every day.”

    Despite victory, Reghecampf was unhappy his team conceded twice in the last five minutes after Mohamed Al Akbari made it 4-0.

    “The matches are only finished when the final whistle is blown, that’s what our players have to understand,” he said. “The two goals we conceded in the last five minutes isn’t good for us. I’m not happy, we have to be 100 per cent focused until the end of the match.”

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