Golden Boot holder Sebastian Tagliabue’s belief in his poaching ability remains undiminished despite his uncharacteristic travails this term.
Tagliabue, 31, has scored just once during four appearances for Al Wahda in all competitions.
The rustiness for the Arabian Gulf League’s 25-goal top scorer was at its most glaring in the 1-1 draw against Al Jazira last Friday, wasting a plethora of chances which should have sealed the spoils from the Abu Dhabi derby within the first 20 minutes.
The Argentine striker has a shot at redemption in the holders’ trip to Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf Cup (AG Cup) on Friday and his desire remains undiminished.
“Every time I am motivated,” said Tagliabue, who has scored an incredible 68 times during 73 top-flight appearances since joining from Al Shabab Riyadh in June 2013.
“Always I focus to be top scorer and win with my team. I didn’t score in the first few league games, but this is only the beginning.”
I can't quite believe what I've seen here. Last term's golden boot #Tagliabue has spurned two glorious chances in first 10 mins @Sport360
— Matt Monaghan (@mattmonaghan360) September 23, 2016
Meanwhile, Al Dhafra manager Mohamed Kwid has expressed the need for his side to transfer their cup form into the league after a wretched start to the AGL season.
The Western Knights beat Hatta and Al Wahda in their first two AG Cup fixtures earlier this month to top Group A, but they shipped eight goals in their opening two league games against Al Nasr and Al Wasl.
“We started very well in the cup. We’ve had two tough games in the league but now we want to learn from those mistakes,” said Kwid, who has challenged his team to take a step towards the semi-finals with victory against Al Jazira tomorrow.
“Jazira is a big club in this country, like Al Ahli or Al Ain,” he said. “Three points will give us a big opportunity of qualifying for the semi-finals. We hope for a positive result to give us motivation to go back into the league programme with confidence.”
