In Friday’s lone contest between BP Polo and Scone in the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup hosted by Cowdray Park Polo Club, the firepower of Scone combined with a standout performance from Poroto Cambiaso earned Scone the 14-11 victory.
Taking advantage of each opportunity presented to them, Scone outshot PB Polo 23 to 16 from the field. Despite matching each other in shooting percentage, Scone’s ability to apply more pressure at the BP goal line combined with an 83% penalty shooting percentage and converting five goals on six attempts, ultimately led to the three-goal triumph.
Assembling at Ebsworth Polo Club, BP Polo struck first on back-to-back efforts from Benjamin Panelo and Joevy Beh, but Scone quickly responded with three from Cambiaso and Matias Gonzalez. Seizing the early advantage, Scone’s Cambiaso broke through in the second, adding an additional four, including two from the penalty line. Pinning BP Polo to just three shots in the second chukka, Genaro Ringa ignited BP Polo’s response in an impressive run of four unanswered. Despite being outscored for the first time in the match, Cambiaso hit his seventh of the half for Scone, as the two evenly matched opponents entered the break deadlocked 8-all.
Following goals from Cambiaso and Tomas Panelo to open the second half and re-take the lead, Ringa temporarily halted Scone’s momentum to keep BP Polo within contention. A lower scoring second half with just four goals combined, both teams stepped-up their offensive efforts in the sixth. Cutting BP Polo’s deficit to one following a drive from Panelo, Scone mounted a successful attack to add three onto the scoreboard. Despite a final effort from BP Polo’s leading scorer Panelo, a spectacular ten-goal performance from Poroto Cambiaso was too much to overcome, as Scone held on for their second victory of the tournament 14-11.
Photo Credit: ©Mark Beaumont