Hong Kong
wins Super Nations Cup in 11-7 romp
By Alex Webbe
The combination of international players that made up the Hong
Kong polo team (Dirk Gould, Joao Ganon, John Paul Clarkin and John Fisher) for
the 2013 Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup seemed to be the proper combination
as they steamrolled England (Henry Fisher, Mark Tomlinson, Luke Tomlinson and
Nacho Gonzalez) 11-7 in the finals on Saturday afternoon at China’s Tianjin
Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.
Luke Tomlinson scored the opening goal of the finals but
that was if for England in the first chukker.
Joao Ganon scored twice and John-Paul Clarkin added a goal as Hong Kong
rushed out to an early 3-1 lead.
The English defense tightened in the second period, but
Clarkin scored his second goal of the game to put Hong Kong ahead, 4-1. Luke Tomlinson
got England on the scoreboard at the 4:12 mark to close out the scoring. Hong Kong left the field on top of a 4-2
score.
Hong Kong continued to hack away at the English defense in
the third. Ganon opened the chukker with
his third goal of the day. John fisher
scored his first goal of the game and Ganon gave Hong Kong a five goal lead,
7-2, just over two minutes into the chukker.
Neither team scored for the balance of the chukker as Hong Kong ended he
first half with a healthy 7-2 advantage.
Dirk Gould scored the opening goal of the second half as
England struggled to formulate an effective attack. Good defensive play ended the scoring for the
remaining five minutes of play. Hong
Kong extended their lead to six goals, 8-2.
Luke Tomlinson scored in the opening seconds of the sixth
chukker, 9-5, but was countered by a goal from Clarkin two minutes later, 10-5. Luke Tomlinson added another goal with less
than three minutes left in regulation time, 10-6. Ganon split the goalposts for Hong Kong at
5:05 to keep Hong Kong in front, 11-6.
Luke Tomlinson completed his hat trick with his third goal of the
chukker, but it was little compensation as Hong Kong celebrated the 11-7
victory.
Ganon was credited with a team-leading five goals. Clarkin scored three times and was named MVP
for his efforts. Gould added two goals
and Fisher scored once for the win. Luke
Tomlinson’s five goals set the pace for the English attack. Mark Tomlinson scored the only other two
goals in a losing effort.
Roxy Chick, played
by the Hong Kong team, received the Best Playing Pony award.