Argentine Open 2010 – Day 4

Ellerstina dominate in Argentine Open match

By Herbert Spencer

Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra swamped a depleted Indios Chapaleufú II Cardón 19-9 at Palermo Sunday to gain a semi-final place in the 117th Argentine Open Championship.


Indios Chapaleufú II were down to a 29-goal handicap, having lost their two 9-goal stars, Eduardo and Ignacio Heguy, to one-match suspensions. The Heguy’s substitutes, 7-goaler Joaquin Pittaluga and 6-goaler Ignatius du Plessis of South Africa, were both playing for the first time in the abierto. So Ellerstina, the only 40-goal team in the Open, were the obvious favourites to win.


Ellerstina appeared to be conserving their pony power in the first three chukkas, staying only a goal ahead. They then held their opponents scoreless in the fourth period and proceeded to dominate the rest of the match, building a massive lead. Ten-goaler Facundo Pieres scored 12 of Ellerstina’s 19 goals, edging out La Dolfina’s Adolfo Cambiaso as the tournament’s high scorer thus far. 


In the day’s first match, 37-goal La Aguada BMW downed 35-goal Alegría Air France 15-12 to earn a place in next weekend’s semi-finals, when they will play Ellerstina. La Aguada led throughout the match except for the fourth chukka when Alegría briefly took a one-goal advantage.


The other semi-final, on 4 December, will be between Cambiaso’s La Dolfina, the reigning champions, and Pilará-Piaget.