Zacara secures a quarter-final ticket, while a win for Twelve Oaks means that a penalty shoot out beckons for the remaining three teams in League Two.
League Two
Zacara 12 – 8 EFG Bank Aravali
Twelve Oaks 13 – 11 Les Lions
Lyndon Lea stepped forward to receive the Richard Watt Cup this afternoon at Guards Polo Club, knowing that his Zacara team is through to the last eight of this year’s Cartier Queen’s Cup competition. His team have impressed this year and have won all three of their league matches, putting them at the top of League Two. However things did not go their way for most of this match. Zacara, tipped by many to have a chance to go all the way this year, failed to score at all in the first. By contrast, Karan Thapar’s EFG Bank Aravali team dominated the first half of this game and were leading 4-2 at half-time. Jaime Huidobro and Javier Novillo Astrada were on fine form for Aravali and kept them ahead until the fifth chukka. This was when the dynamic of the game changed as Zacara now found their form, scoring five goals to take the lead for the first time. Now it was the EFG Bank Aravali who had no answer and so Zacara were now very much back in the game. With two further goals from both sides in the last chukka victory and that highly sought after quarter final ticket went to Zacara.
EFG Bank Aravali will have to wait to learn their fate as the second match of the afternoon at Guards Polo Club saw a victory for Stefano Marsaglia’s Twelve Oaks team. This was their first win of the competition and means that the three remaining teams in League Tw (EFG Bank Aravali, Les Lions, Twelve Oaks) all have one win apiece. Therefore a penalty shootout later this week looks likely. Marsaglia was unable to play today and his place was taken by a rising young star of the sport, Jack Hyde. This 16-year-old is in the middle of his GCSEs, but this was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down, but no doubt he will have his head back in his books again tomorrow! His confident play was an asset to the team and some strong play from the Laprida boys and Marcos Di Paola helped ensure Twelve Oaks’ victory here this afternoon. Les Lions started in fine form with Agustin Merlos scoring three goals in the first chukka to give Joachim Gottschalk’s team a 3-1 lead after the first seven minutes. Twelve Oaks started the fightback in the second though with Laprida scoring three instead and by half-time Twelve Oaks were ahead 7-5. They continued to dominate this game and even four goals from Les Lions in the final chukka was not enough and Twelve Oaks won the match 13-11.
No matches tomorrow (Monday). The next matches are on Tuesday 4 June:
Sumaya v Talandracas at 12noon at Guards Polo Club: Both these teams have won a match and so will be looking to ensure their place in the quarter-finals. Both are hugely experienced and have produced some great polo over the past week so this should be a good game.
HB Polo v Cortium Jaeger LeCoultre at 3pm at Guards Polo Club: HB Polo are looking for their first win in this, their first Cartier Queen’s Cup competition. Meanwhile Adrian Kirby’s Cortium are hoping to make it three out of three and automatically go through to the quarters as winners of League Four.