The quarter finals have been decided after 16 days of play and 35 matches of the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup. It all came down to the final day of play to see who would go through and who’s Gold Cup journey was over. The quarter final match ups will be as follows:
Saturday 12th July
12pm: Gaston vs Kazak
3pm: UAE vs La Dolfina/ Marqués de Riscal
Sunday July 13
12pm: La Dolfina Scone vs Aureus GV
3pm: Ferne Park vs White Crane
Match 1:
With the two sides playing for their place in the quarters this match was as fast and furious and hard-fought as you would expect. Two very well matched teams clashed and it was tight throughout the game. While Jehangiri lagged just slightly behind, visibly trying to keep up with the slightly faster Gaston team, they certainly didn’t give them an easy time of it, hustling throughout, never leaving the men and taking any opportunity they could. Just when Aureus thought they could take a breath, Jehangiri came back to equalise and push the game to overtime. While both teams had been accurate from the field throughout the match, it was Gaston Polo Team who proved themselves to be cool under pressure, scoring the golden goal to seal the victory and earn their place in the quarters.
Match 2:
The second match of the day saw another extra chukka, giving the audience plenty of bang for their buck, they got full action from a determined Aureus GV side against an equally tough Bangash side. While Aureus took the lead early and managed to keep ahead of the Bangash foursome throughout, Bangash were not giving up. Consistently applying pressure they made a gargantuan effort in the final chukka to pull the match back to 11-11 as the final buzzer went, pushing them into overtime. Both teams having shown supreme accuracy from the field (9 out of 16 shots to goal in for Aureus GV and 8 out of 14 in for Bangash Polo Team) it was all down to who got the first opportunity. This was Aureus GV and they sealed their place in the quarters with a golden goal.
Match 3:
The third and final match of the day was another make or break match with Valhalla taking on Ferne Park. It was Vere Harmsworth’s side who took the early lead, widening the gap after halftime to a 8-3 lead that even a glorious 3 goal final chukka from Valhalla in the last couldn’t overcome. The unstoppable duo of Joaquin Pittaluga and Pelon Stirling were on fire playing for their place in the quarters, dominating on field possession and creating flowing polo through intricate passing plays which helped stretch the Valhalla defence allowing them to move forward undefended and score. By the end of the penultimate chukka, Ferne Park had doubled Valhalla’s score and went into the last confident in their victory.
Watch all Gold Cup matches here: https://cowdraypolo.co.uk/cowdray-tv/
Image credit Mark Beaumont
Stats provided by International Polo Academy