Hong Kong and England in Super
Nations Cup Finals
By Alex Webbe
An international contingent competing as Hong Kong (Dirk
Gould, Joao Ganon, John Paul Clarkin and John Fisher) rode out to a 7-5
halftime lead and then fought off a second half Argentine (Martin Pepa,
Marianito Obregon, Michel Dorignac and Martin Donovan) rally to register a 10-9
win in Wednesday’s semifinal of the 2013 Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup at
China’s Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.
Brazilian 7-goaler Joao Ganon scored the first goal of the
game for Hong Kong as they raced out to an early 4-2 lead in the second
semifinal of the prestigious 24-goal tournament. Ganon would add another first chukker goal
with teammates Dirk Gould and John-Paul Clarkin adding single goals for the
cause. Marianito Obregon scored both of
Argentina’s first period goals.
Ganon and Obregon each added a pair of goals in the second
chukker. Clarkin scored a third goal for
Hong Kong as they stretched their lead to three goals, 7-4.
Both defenses stepped it up in the third, allowing Argentina’s
Martin Donovan the only goal of the chukker.
Hong Kong continued to lead, but Argentina had cut the advantage down to
two goals, 7-5, to end the first half of play.
Both teams bolstered up their defenses again in the fourth
chukker. Despite runs up and down the
field, no goals were scored. The 7-5 lead
remained with Hong Kong with two chukkers left in regulation play.
John Fisher’s first goal of the game pushed the Hong Kong
lead back up to three goals, 8-5, before the Argentine rally. Three consecutive goals (two from Obregon and
one from Dorignac) went unanswered to end the chukker in an 8-8 deadlock.
Ganon scored the go-ahead goal in the opening seconds of the
sixth chukker for a 9-8 Hong Kong lead.
Argentine continued to press the attack, and halfway through the chukker
Obregon tied it at 9-9. The two teams
battled back and forth for most of the balance of the chukker when Ganon drove
the ball through the Argentine goalposts for the 10-9 Hong Kong win.
Ganon was credited with a team-leading six goals. Clarkin scored twice and Gould and Fisher
each added a goal. Obregon’s seven goals
led all scoring. Dorignac and Donovan each
scored once in a losing effort.
Following a tournament “Rest Dayâ€, action will resume on
Friday, October 4th with the United States (Tommy Collingwood, Nic
Roldan, Mike Azzaro and Ulysses Escapite) playing Argentina for third
place. On Saturday, October 5th
Hong Kong will meet England (Henry Fisher, Mark Tomlinson, Luke Tomlinson and
Nacho Gonzalez).