Subsidiary Final
Pitirri Potranca 12 vs Casa de Campo 11
MVP Deny Santana
In a riveting confrontation between the teams of two long term friends but also old rivals, Pitirri finally faced Casa de Campo at Los Establos for the Subsidiary Final of the Bronze Cup. Pitirri were tipped to have the edge with extra horse power lent by Dr. Lopez and the one point handicap advantage. They certainly looked like they were going to get that in the first chukka. But after Zubiaurre’s early goals in the first were neutralized by one from Matos and another from Pieres, things changed dramatically. Both Bensadon and Pieres scored a couple while Rueda could only muster one. This gave them a significant lead that they managed to sustain right up until chukka number 5. But Pitirri clawed their way back and in that chukka flipped the scoreline to one goal in their favour thanks to another deadly spurt from Santana, which saw two successive goals from the line outs. this put them at 9-8. The last chukka was the most exciting with attacks running the length of the field and both teams scoring, notably Bensadon who put them at a draw at the end of the 6th chukka. This gave us the spectacle of Pittirri’s second extra time scenario in a row.
As the teams went at it in the sudden death chukka it looked like the goal was to be for Pieres twice, but denied twice and then a nifty counter attack after the second attempt gave Rueda the glory of scoring the winning goal.
The Final
Agualinda 5 vs Lechuza 6
MVP David Stirling
The climax of the first tournament of the whole series was a fitting one that reflected all the brilliance of the games leading up to it, but didn’t show on the scoreboard. In fact the final was the lowest scoring game of the tournament. It was however a close run thing. With two injury stoppage times for Jauretche who came down in the 5th and Pelon who was hit by a ball on the forearm in the same, it was a much more physical game than the relationship between the teams would suggest. The normal tournament goal hunters were absent from the score board as Alfredo Vargas went into defensive mode and Victor Vargas was denied more than a few times by the 10 goal back for Agualinda. Lisioli was active with a spectacular nearside neckshot in chukka 3 as well as another in the same. Even Nero waited until the last to score a goal, alongside Victor Vargas who converted a penalty 2 to put his team ahead by one. It was that one goal that won the game as the final finished 6 -5 to the tournament favourites Lechuza. Pelon Stirling with his 3 goals and relentless defense, won MVP.
The Polo Challenge calendar continues this Saturday with the Royal Salute Charity Cup, featuring an exhibition match with none other than the world’s number 1 player, Adolfo Cambiaso Jr.
Lechuza vs. Agualinda
P. Potranca vs. Casa de Campo
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