VS King Power and Dubai Claim Victories on Day Six of Cartier Queen’s Cup
The remaining four teams to play their second games in the 2019 Cartier Queen’s Cup were completed on the sixth day of play, with Dubai remaining undefeated after the 14-10 victory over Murus Sanctus on the Duke’s Ground, while VS King Power defeated Emlor 10-8 at Noel Farm.
The first game of the day featured a tale of two halves, with VS King Power limiting Emlor to just two goals over the final three chukkas to overcome their slow start and complete the comeback. A clean game between the two teams saw each convert three penalty attempts, leaving the outcome to open play with the extra shot attempts for VS King Power proving to be the difference. Searching for their first victory, Emlor came out strong in the first half, with Fred Mannix and Spencer McCarthy opening the scoring to give them the early 2-1 lead. VS King Power struggled to find the goal from the field, forced to shoot from distance, resulting in inaccurate 1 for 6 shooting. Emlor’s Agustin Merlos took advantage in a dominant third chukka, where he scored three goals, one from the penalty line and two from the field to push Emlor’s lead to four.
Utilizing an increased defensive pressure, VS King Power began generating turnovers from Emlor to begin their attack, with Polito Pieres scoring his second goal of the game, along with a Penalty 2 conversion for Marcos Di Paola. In what proved to be the decisive chukka of the game, VS King Power outscored Emlor 4-0 in the fifth chukka, turning a three-goal deficit into a one-goal lead. Field goals from Juan Martin Zubia and Top Srivaddhanaprabha gave VS King Power the edge, with a balanced attack seeing all four players make an impact offensively in the second half. Pinned in their own half, Emlor was held to zero shots in the fifth and sixth chukkas, unable to recover from their lost lead as Zubia added two more filed goals to secure the 10-8 victory for VS King Power.
The final game of the second round resulted in Dubai continuing their potent offense in a 14-goal performance against Murus Sanctus. Utilizing their offensive pressure and chemistry between Camilo and Bartolome Castagnola, Dubai raced out to an early lead and generated twice as many shots to give them the advantage throughout the remainder of the game. Despite receiving 15 fouls, Murus Sanctus was unable to turn the additional chances into consistent offense in the loss. Holding Murus Sanctus off the scoreboard in the first chukka, Dubai held a 2-0 and extended that further with an impressive five-goal second chukka, with all goals coming from the field on seven shot attempts. Bartolome Castagnola led the way with three goals in the chukka as Murus Sanctus trailed by four. Facundo Sola and Gonzalito Pieres added a goal each to bring the deficit to three, but they couldn’t slow the Dubai offense who finished the half with the 8-5 lead.
At the end of the third chukka, Facundo Sola was forced to be replaced by Santiago Toccalino, who stepped into a Murus Sanctus team looking to fight their way back into the game. The Dubai offense continued to drive downfield, producing 10 shots over the fourth and fifth chukkas, converting four of those opportunities, but Murus Sanctus responded with two penalty conversions from Gonzalito Pieres to stay within three goals entering the final chukka. A push from Murus Sanctus resulted in three fouls for Dubai including a Penalty 1, that gave Murus Sanctus hope of a comeback, but Camilo Castagnola found his scoring touch from the first game to score two goals to seal the 14-10 victory and keep Dubai undefeated leading into their next match-up against La Indiana.