Les Lions 8 – 7 Monterosso at Coworth Park
Monterosso and Les Lions were looking for that all important first win when they headed to Coworth Park today on day five of the Cartier Queen’s Cup. And it looked as if it was going to Alejandro Bazzoni’s team who would be notching up a victory thanks to four early goals from Ignacio Toccalino, who celebrates his birthday today. Les Lions failed to score at all in the first and only a goal apiece from Guillermo Terrera and Max Gottschalk in the second kept them in contention. It was all change in the third though. Now it was Monterosso who failed to score in the next two chukkas, during which their number four, Santiago Toccalino was shown a yellow flag for letting go of his horse. Meanwhile Les Lions gradually crept past Monterosso, thanks to a couple of accurate penalties from Joaquin Pittaluga and a field goal from Jaime Huidobro. With the score reading 5-4 there was still all to play for both sides, but as the teams fired through the same number of goals (3) in final two chukkas – a familiar pattern in this year’s tournament – Les Lions won the match.
La Bamba de Areco 12 – 7 Talandracas at Guards Polo Club for the Kerry Packer Trophy
The second game of the day was pretty much a carbon copy of the morning match, although these teams have already registered a league win each and the general pace was a little faster. Talandracas kicked things off on the Duke’s Ground with the three pros all firing through a goal – Alejandro Muzzio, Fran Elizalde and Julian de Lusaretta – finding the flags. La Bamba had to rely on young Zac Beim – nephew of El Remanso’s James – to get them on the scoreboard; Zac was standing in for his patron Jean Francois Decaux who was unwell. When La Bamba failed to score in the second Monterosso must have felt that this game was theirs for the taking. Once again though, fortunes changed in the third with Monterosso failing to score and Byron Watson – who had impressed everyone in La Bamba’s previous game – closing the gap to 5-2. Not quite sure what was said in the La Bamba de Areco tent at half-time, but they came out looking for a win. Three goals from Pelon Stirling and two from Juan Martin Nero tilted the balance in favour of La Bamba for the first time – 7-6. A quiet fifth chukker, with a goal apiece from both sides, meant that it was still “game on” in the sixth and final chukka. Maybe it was then that La Bamba decided that the Kerry Packer Trophy was to be theirs and put away four goals – two off the stick of Stirling – to none in reply from Talandracas. Not only did La Bamba de Areco win this game 12 – 7, but they are the first team to register two victories.
Unfortunately Ros Packer could not be at Guards Polo Club today to present the trophy played in memory of her late husband and so the presentation honours went to David Paradice. He co runs the Ellerston polo set up in Australia with Mrs Packer and had only just arrived in the UK – coming directly to the Club from Heathrow!
Both games will be available to watch later this evening at www.guardspoloclub.com/guards-tv