Talandracas and UAE Qualify for Cartier Queen’s Cup Quarter-Finals
A decisive ninth day in the 2019 Cartier Queen’s Cup included three matches with implications on quarter-final qualification, with La Bamba de Areco defeating Casa La Vista Ibiza 14-7 to begin the day, followed by UAE narrowly defeating Monterosso 14-12 and Talandracas claiming an exciting 15-11 victory over Park Place on the Queen’s Ground at Guards Polo Club.
In the opening match of the day, La Bamba de Areco dominated possession to outshoot Casa La Vista Ibiza 22-12, scoring all but one of their fourteen goals from the field. With an efficient attack, La Bamba de Areco’s balanced offense saw at least four goals from Kian Hall, Juan Martin Nero and David Stirling in the victory. Casa La Vista Ibiza produced a slow start, missing their first four shot attempts, resulting in La Bamba de Areco claiming a two-goal lead despite two missed penalty attempts. Nero increased La Bamba de Areco’s lead to four by the end of the half, scoring two field goals in the second and third chukkas, while managing possession and limiting the counterattack of Casa La Vista Ibiza.
The crucial chukka of the game proved to be the fourth chukka, as Casa La Vista Ibiza was pinned in their own half, evident by La Bamba de Areco amassing seven shots to build a large seven-goal lead. With two goals from Kian Hall, the balanced attack left the Casa La Vista Ibiza defence unable to contain all angles, with two chukkas remaining in the game. Two goals from Hilali Noordeen reduced the deficit for Casa La Vista Ibiza, but La Bamba de Areco completed the convincing 14-7 victory for their first win of the tournament.
The second game of the day was a match-up between teams holding a 1-1 record with the winner securing a spot in the quarter-final. An efficient UAE attack took advantage of a slow start from Monterosso, who was hampered by foul troubles throughout the first half. Receiving a goal on handicap, UAE extended the lead to two after a field goal and Penalty 3 conversion for Sapo Caset in the opening chukka. A stop and start second chukka produced five fouls and a penalty goal for both Monterosso and UAE, with Joaquin Pittaluga scoring all three Monterosso goals in the chukka to keep pace with the UAE offense. Caset pushed UAE further into the lead before the end of the half, scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the game, while a strong team defence kept Monterosso off the scoreboard resulting in a 9-4 lead.
The game developed into a fast-paced match in the second half as the two teams traded goals back and forth, with Monterosso pushing to reduce their five-goal deficit. Ignacio Toccalino and Joaquin Pittaluga scored two goals each over the fourth and fifth chukkas, but UAE’s Tom Brodie made his impact on the game with an impressive four-goal performance over the same span. Behind Brodie’s offense, UAE maintained their lead entering the final chukka, leaving Monterosso in need of a dominant chukka to have a chance at victory. Juan Gris Zavaleta scored two goals and an assist, but Monterosso managed just three goals, as UAE held on for the 14-12 victory.
In the final match of the day between two undefeated teams, Park Place raced out to a quick start against Talandracas, only to have foul trouble slow their momentum. Talandracas produced a strong counterattack in the victory, overcoming Park Place’s dominance from the throw-in line to capture the victory behind a nine-goal performance from Francisco Elizalde. Scoring four unanswered goals to begin the game, Park Place was seemingly in control, led by the offense of Juan Britos, until a foul to end the first chukka, began a run for Talandracas. After the Penalty 2 conversion, Talandracas responded to Park Place’s run with a five-goal run of their own to capture the 5-4 lead, with the duo of Elizalde and Julian de Lusarreta combining for all five goals. Talandracas continued their strong play to finish the chukka, holding an 8-5 lead after their third penalty conversion of the game, while Park Place was kept off the penalty line.
Looking for the spark they produced in the first chukka, Park Place used a balanced offense that saw all four players find the scoresheet in the fourth and fifth chukkas, resulting in the deficit closing to two. Talandracas remained in the lead due to Elizalde and de Lusarreta continuing their strong play, including effective passing to set up Alejandro Muzzio for his second goal of the game. With a spot in the quarter-finals on the line, Talandracas turned to Elizalde, who scored three goals in the final chukka, two coming off assists from Muzzio to end Park Place’s hopes of a comeback, resulting in the 15-11 victory for Talandracas.