Cria Yatay and Ellerstina Dominate on Day 5 of Argentine Open
The fifth day of play in the 2018 Abierto Argentino de Polo saw two convincing victories with Cria Yatay defeating La Canada Angiocor-DRF 17-7, while Ellerstina defeated La Albertina Abu Dhabi 17-9 at Palermo.
The opening game of the day saw a physical affair with a combined 28 fouls leading to 12 penalty 2 attempts for the two teams. The physicality of Cria Yatay’s defense overwhelmed La Canada throughout the match with Magoo Laprida leading the defensive performance causing numerous turnovers with well executed steals and ride-offs. Brother Ignacio Laprida was also effective at the back of the game, stopping any La Canada attack and creating a quick counter offense that forced La Canada into difficult positions defensively.
From the opening throw-in, Cria Yatay controlled possession of the ball, quickly causing turnovers for La Canada. Outshooting La Canada 4-0 in the opening chukka, Cria Yatay was unable to take the early lead as they missed all four shot attempts. The inaccurate shooting continued throughout the rest of the first half as Cria Yatay shot just 1 for 10 from the field, yet their lone field goal was one more than La Canada, who failed to score on either of their two shot attempts in the opening half. The defensive effort of Cria Yatay was a big factor in the game, along with the high number of penalty attempts that was the source of Cria Yatay’s offense in the opening half. Ignacio Laprida led all players with six goals in the first four chukkas, with all six coming from the 30-yard penalty line to give Cria Yatay the 8-2 lead.
The second half followed a similar script with Ignacio Laprida converting four more penalties from the 30-yard line, where he shot a perfect 10 for 10 in the game. Agustin Obregon and Jared Zenni combined for five goals in the second half as La Canada tried to fight their way back into the game, but their inability to get past the stout defense of Cria Yatay proved to be the deciding factor. A four-goal seventh chukka led by two goals from Joaquin Pittaluga ultimately sealed the outcome of the game as Cria Yatay finished with the 17-7 victory.
The second game of the day saw Ellerstina receive an early scare from La Albertina as they trailed into the third chukka, with La Albertina using efficient shooting to grab the early edge on Ellerstina. After fighting their way back into the lead, Ellerstina’s offense went into overdrive, overwhelming La Albertina in every aspect of the game, displaying a relentless attack that finished with an impressive 38 shots on goal. Despite inaccurate 39% from Ellerstina, La Albertina was unable to contain Ellerstina as they ultimately were defeated 17-9.
After Ellerstina’s Nico Pieres scored on the opening throw-in, La Albertina quickly responded with Francisco Elizalde scoring a goal and then setting up Nic Roldan to give his team the 2-1 lead. Before the end of the chukka, Ignacio Toccalino scored from distance, placing Ellerstina on their heels despite holding a nine-goal advantage on handicap coming into the game. La Albertina continued to generate offense, but their momentum slowed in the third chukka due to four missed shot attempts. Sensing an opening, Ellerstina outshot La Albertina 7-0 in the fourth chukka, keeping the ball in the offensive territory to score four goals and break the 5-5 tie to lead 9-5 at half.
The balanced Ellerstina attack saw them continue their run, scoring 11 unanswered goals leading into the sixth chukka. During the run, all four players found the scoresheet with Polito, Gonzalito and Facundo all scoring at least three goals each. La Albertina was unable to get past the Ellerstina defense throughout the second half as they were held to just four shots in the second half. Nic Roldan finally ended the run at the end of the sixth chukka but La Albertina found themselves down by eight goals with just two chukkas remaining. After a quick start, La Albertina ultimately were unable to slow Ellerstina’s potent attack, conceding 38 shots in the 17-9 defeat.