A Pieres golden goal for La Bamba
By Herbert Spencer
Ten-goaler Gonzalito Pieres converted a spot penalty in the seventh chukka Wednesday to give Jean-François Decaux’s La Bamba de Areco their 12-11 victory over Nigel Warr’s Combe in the British Open Championship at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
Combe, newcomers to English high-goal, did well to surprisingly take La Bamba into extra time. Decaux’s side is the only one of the 20 teams competing for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup with two 10-goalers in their line-up. La Bamba’s Facundo Pieres, also 10, was back partnering with his brother Gonzalito after being sidelined with a pulled riding muscle.
This was the second day in a row that a Gold Cup match went into a seventh, sudden death chukka, a clear indication of the high pressure between teams in the four leagues, with some newcomers holding their own against old favourites. La Bamba now lead League Two with a 3-0 win record.
In an earlier match Wednesday the reigning champions, Alfio Marchini’s Loro Piana, narrowly defeated Max Gottschalk’s Les Lions II by 10 goals to 9, with 8-goaler Santiago Chavanne scoring the winning goal in the last seconds of the game. England’s 3-goaler Henry Fisher substituted for patron Marchini who was absent on business.