Two extremely close, fast paced and competitive matches on Wednesday 19th of March saw the finalists of the second leg of The Gauntlet of Polo decided. Spectators were treated to some seriously unbelievable polo skills and horsepower when Coca Cola took on Brookshire and Park Place played La Dolfina Catamount. Both Coca Cola and Park Place were triumphant with just 1 goal in it in both cases and they will face off in what is sure to be a spectacle on Sunday 23rd March.
Semi Final 1 Coca Cola vs Brookshire:
The hard-fought contest saw Brookshire leading at halftime having come out strong from the first whistle. Gillian Johnston’s team recovered and surged in the fourth chukka however, managing to equalize at 7-all. They upped their defensive game with some incredible saves from the goalline and played to their strengths of a strong 4 man attacking side to spread the Brookshire defense thin and push through 4 goals.
They kept the momentum going, outscoring Brookshire 3-2 in the fifth chukka, taking a 10-9 lead heading into the final period. The last chukka was a heated battle, with both teams giving it their all. It ended 1-1, a penalty seeing Brookshire try to win back their advantage, but it wasn’t enough and Coca-Cola secured the 11-10 victory and earned the first spot in the final.
Chukka Breakdown:
Score Progression:
Game Statistics:
This will be Coca-Cola’s second consecutive final, having previously played in the CV Whitney Cup final, where they were defeated by La Dolfina Tamera.
Watch the match here:
Semi Final 2 Park Place vs La Dolfina/ Catamount:
Just like the first semi final match, this was tightly contested with just 1 goal making the difference between finals and elimination. La Dolfina Catamount came out strong, dominating the first chukka with a 4-1 lead. But Park Place quickly regained their footing, leveling the score at 6-all by halftime. Andrey Borodin’s squad took control in the fourth chukka, edging ahead 8-7.
However, La Dolfina Catamount wasn’t ready to back down, fighting back to tie the game at 10-all with just one chukka remaining. In the final chukka a penalty 1 in favour of Park Place saw them take the 1 goal advantage with less than a minute to go to clinch a 12-11 win and secure their spot in the championship game against previous CV Whitney Cup finalists Coca Cola.
Chukka Breakdown:
Score Progression:
Game Statistics:
Stats provided by International Polo Academy