The second round of the 127th Argentine Open took place today at Palermo with two games in which La Natividad Las Monjitas and La Dolfina emerged as winners.
In the opening game of the day, La Natividad Las Monjitas took on La Irenita II. The match got off to a very even start, with La Natividad Las Monjitas narrowly leading 4-3 by the end of the second. The boys in green took off in the third, holding La Irenita II scoreless and widening their advantage to 8-3. However, La Irenita II fought back, especially in a great fourth chukka, when Tomás Fernández Llorente scored four goals to outscore La Natividad Las Monjitas 4-1 and go into half time just 8-10 down.
A determined La Natividad Las Monjitas rode onto the field in the fifth with the aim to taking back control of the match. The Castagnola brothers, Barto and Jeta (2) scored unanswered goals to secure their advantage, but La Irenita II – a team where three out of four players are new to the Open – never gave up. La Natividad Las Monjitas had to work hard not to lose their grip on the game. The goal difference between the two teams at the end of the sixth and seventh chukkas was only two: 13-11 and 14-12, respectively.
An intense final chukka followed. La Irenita II were good enough to stop their opponents from scoring as La Natividad Las Monjitas fought hard to find the goal posts at least once more. With less than two minutes to go, Pedro Falabella scored a great goal to go within a goal of their rivals. Then, Tomás Fernández Llorente scored after a penalty won by Santiago Loza to tie the game at 14-all, with only 30 seconds left in the match.
Extra chukka? Your guessed it! The match went into a ninth chukka where Falabella missed a great opportunity to secure the win, but at the end of the day, Barto Castagnola scored to take the 15-14 win for La Natividad Las Monjitas. Despite the loss, La Irenita II surprised many that day!
There was much expectation surrounding the next match, due on Palermo’s number one ground, as defending champions La Dolfina were back with their complete 40-goal lineup, comprised of Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo Mac Donough and Juan Martin Nero. This would be their first match together in the 2020 Triple Crown (injuries had prevented them from previously playing together this year).
The match got off to quite a start. La Dolfina managed to secure the lead, while a deeply concentrated La Irenita fought to stay in the game, mostly thanks to Juan Martín Zubía’s amazing performance. Slowly by surely, La Dolfina started to build an important advantage. In the third, thanks to four unanswered goals by Adolfo Cambiaso, La Dolfina built momentum, while Juan Martín Zubía scored for La Irenita. By half time, La Dolfina extended their advantage to a commanding 12-7. Cambiaso clearly took control of the game, since his three team mates were still out of rhythm after not having played for a while.
After a fantastic goal scored by Juan Martín Nero in the last seconds of the sixth, La Dolfina pushed harder in the the last chukkas to claim a 20-11 win. The victory marked the comeback of a team in their last season together, after ten glorious years.
LA NATIVIDAD LAS MONJITAS 15-14 LA IRENITA II (OT)
La Natividad Monjitas: Camilo Castagnola 8 (8 goals, three penalties), Pablo Pieres 10 (2), Barto Castagnola 9 (4, one penalty), Ignatius Du Plessis 9 (1) (received a yellow card in the second chukka). Total: 36.
La Irenita II: Santiago Loza 7 (1), Tomás Fernández Llorente 7 (8, six penalties), Juan Ruiz Guiñazú 8 (2), Pedro Falabella 7 (3). Total: 29.
Score La Natividad Las Monjitas: 2-1, 4-3, 8-3, 10-8, 13-8, 13-11, 14-12, 14-14, 15-14.
Umpires: Matías Baibiene & Martín Aguerre.
Third Man: Rafael Silva.
BPP Polo Argentino: Irenita Razón (Losmachitos Líbano x Irenita Pensadora), played by Santiago Loza.
Nominees:
Pampa Norte Sombra (Pacua Matrero x Resbalosa), played by Pedro Falabella.
Monjita Mentirosa (Sportivo x Open Mentirosa), played by Barto Castagnola.
LA DOLFINA SAUDI 20-11 LA IRENITA
La Dolfina Saudi Polo Team: Adolfo Cambiaso 10 (15 goals, nine penalties and one safety penalty), David Stirling 10, Pablo Mac Donough 10 (3), Juan Martin Nero 10 (2). Total: 40.
La Irenita: Martín Podestá 7 (1), Juan Martín Zavaleta 8 (3, one penalty), Facundo Fernández Llorente 7 (2), Juan Martín Zubía 8 (5, three penalties). Total: 30.
Score La Dolfina Saudi: 3-2, 5-4, 9-5, 12-7, 14-8, 15-9, 18-10, 20-11.
Umpires: Federico Martelli & Gastón Lucero.
Third Man: José I. Araya.
BPP Polo Argentino: Dolfina B01 Cuartetera – Clone 1 (Genetics Sportivo/Lambada), played by Adolfo Cambiaso.
Nominees:
Irenita Trompa (Dolfina Cuarteto x Irenita Trompada), played by Pablo Mac Donough.
Oro Corona (Yuyo x Chapaleufu Medalla), played by Juan Gris Zavaleta.
The Argentine Open resumes on Friday, December 4:
2pm: La Ensenada La Aguada vs. Cria GT
5pm: Ellerstina vs. Los Machitos