G U T T E R C R E D I T I N H E R E
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A C T I O N
T H E A R T O F P O LO
Now, on paper, two 27-goal teams rode onto
the field that day. But it was plain for everyone
to see that the Argentine teamwas infinitely
superior. Of course, both Britos – who was
named MVP of the match – and Castagnola
are rated a goal higher in Argentina. However,
given the recent determination and grit of the
English – particularly the Harper-Beim duo,
winners of the 2018 Gold Cup alongside
England teammate Ollie Cudmore – the crowd
wasn’t expecting the match to be so one-
sided, to say the least.
The expectation and excitement that
emanated from the stands and pony lines
Opposite page, from left:
Jack
Richardson on the ball with Barto
Castagnola and Juan Britos
. This page,
from left:
Facundo Pieres and Barto
Castagnola in a victory embrace
as the first ball was thrown in evaporated
quickly.The chukka ended 5-0 in favour
of Argentina, and that was it for England.
By the end of the second period,Jack
Richardson had scored England’s only goal,
and by half-time, they were trailing 3-9.
The Argentines, secure in their dominance
showed mercy on their opponents, and
slowed their pace. Even so, the English
could not stop them from scoring.The
match finished 14-6 in favour of the visiting
team. Despite the harsh result, Harper
was positive after the match.‘We want
to be playing this stuff more often,’ he
confirmed.‘It’s all a learning curve, and
we still enjoyed it.’
The victory gave Argentina their sixth
Coronation Cup title. Facundo Pieres has now
won all three editions he has played (2009,
2014, and 2019).‘It was kind of done in the
first chukka, but we knew we had to keep our
concentration up,’ shared Facundo.‘We
struggled a little with that in the third and
fourth. We always kept a four- or five-goal
difference, however, so that was good for us.
It is very important for us as Argentines to
win. We cannot afford to lose at polo, so it was
great to finish as we did.’
THE E XPEC TAT I ON
AND E XC I TEMENT
THAT EMANATED
FROM THE S TANDS
AND P ONY L I NES
AS THE F I RS T BA L L
WAS THROWN
I N E VAP OR ATED
