Wow – three great Cartier Queen’s Cup games today that kept players and spectators on the edge of their seats. HH Sheikha Maitha’s UAE Polo Team won the first match but had to contend with a resurgent Kazak team. UAE were 6-2 up in the second with Juan Martin Nero creating space and successfully second guessing his opponents. Kazak fought back brilliantly in the third though to level the score (6-6). Patron Sebastien Aguettant added to his team’s tally, firing through a hat-trick in this match. However Hugo Taylor, who had been impressive throughout the game, put UAE back into the lead at the start of the fourth and the Sheikha’s team did not look back.
Image credit: Art of Polo
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Second Match
Next up was an even closer contest between Dubai and Ferne Park. This was a fast, running game at Noel Farm. Dubai had been in the ascendancy in the first half, leading by a goal at half-time (5-4) but one should never discount Facundo Pieres, playing this year for Ferne Park, when in top form. Like Nero in the previous game, he comes to these matches with years of top-level experience. Ferne Park produced some great polo to ensure the scores were all tied (5-5) early into the sixth chukka. However Barto Castagnola was in the right place in the closing stages, another player who is able to read the game, and picked up a poor backhand from Pieres in the final seconds of the sixth chukka to fire through the winner for Dubai.
Image credit: Art of Polo
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Third Match
The final game of the day was another neck-and-neck contest, this time on The Queen’s Ground. Ojo Caliente and Black Bears almost matched each other goal for goal. Scores were level (4-4) at half-time and again at the end of the fourth (7-7). Some strong play from Black Bears in the fifth – from Tommy and Benjamin Panelo in particular – gave Guy Schwarzenbach’s team a much-needed edge. However Ojo Caliente’s Facundo Sola’s sharp shooting – it had been impressive all match – closed the gap once more (11-10). Sadly, his team-mate, Martin Podesta, saw his shot at goal literally shave the post to go wide, while the Panelo brothers demonstrated some excellent teamwork, giving Black Bears a valuable, three-goal advantage. Despite the pressure of the clock ticking down, Ojo Caliente stayed focused, with Sola successfully reducing the gap to just one goal again, but the bell rang before he could push this game into overtime.
Image credit: Art of Polo
The Teams:
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Stats provided by https://poloreport.com/