There was triple action on the penultimate day of the British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup on Tuesday 8th July with three exciting match ups which saw the remaining teams battling for their league positioning ahead of the quarter finals this weekend.
Match 1:
First up La Dolfina/ Scone beat King Power MB 14-10 to take their 3rd win of the tournament and stand themselves in good stead for the quarter finals, while King Power MB suffered their 3rd loss. La Dolfina/ Scone took charge of the game early on, dominating in attack from the off with some beautiful interplays between Adolfo Cambiaso and Paco de Narvaez creating some great forward running plays and goals. A masterclass in penalty taking, both teams were 100% from the penalty line, La Dolfina Scone scoring 5/5 and King Power MB scoring 7/7. La Dolfina/ Scone had the edge on attacking possession and were deadly accurate in front of goal, earning them the crucial win after a fast and furious game.
Match 2:
Having lost all of their previous games Park Place’s chances at a quarter finals spot were already dashed but a win against La Magdeleine means they can exit the tournament with their heads held high. La Magdeleine put heart into the game, reaching the goal 24 times but unable to complete the goals needed to make the difference on the scoreboard, while Park Place showed glimmers of their Queen’s Cup performance with deadly accurate plays up front and from the penalty line ensuring the win on the day. Park Place started strong with 7 goals in the first 2 chukkas to La Magdeleine’s 1 and they were able to maintain the lead throughout, despite 2 goalless chukkas in the middle, to seal the win and leave La Magdeleine without a win in the tournament.
Match 3:
An exciting extra chukka defined the last match of the day between La Dolfina/ Marques de Riscal and Sujan Indian Tigers. This is the 3rd win for the La Dolfina/ Marques de Riscal team who were beaten by Kazak in their last match and so this was a vital win for them to smooth their path to the quarters while Sujan Indian Tigers now have 2 wins and 2 losses and their place is not guaranteed. Such an important result made for some thrilling polo with both teams going in hard. It was La Dolfina/ Marques de Riscal leading from chukka 2, reaching an impressive 5 goal lead by the end of the 4th chukka but that’s when Sujan Indian Tigers switched it on. 4 goals in the penultimate plus 2 to equalise in the final chukka pushed the game to overtime, but despite the impressive comeback and the equal possession throughout it was La Dolfina/ Marques de Riscal who were able to clinch that all important win, scoring the golden goal to win 11-10.
Watch all Gold Cup matches here: https://cowdraypolo.co.uk/cowdray-tv/
Image credit Mark Beaumont
Stats provided by International Polo Academy