Hurlingham Open 2010 – Day 1

Battles of brothers as Hurlingham Open starts

By Herbert Spencer

Chapa Uno Hope Funds and Pilará-Piaget fought a see-saw battle on the first day of the 117th Hurlingham Open Tuesday with Chapa Uno finally triumphing 17-16 in extra time.


The Merlos brothers Sebastián and Augustín combined well for Pilará-Piaget, scoring half their points and keeping them in the lead in three chukkas and equal in two others. But it was a third Merlos sibling, playing for Chapa Uno, who won the match. 


The game was tied up, 16-16, in the eighth chukka of regulation time. In the ninth, sudden death chukka, Pilará-Piaget missed a try before Juan Ignacio “Pite” Merlos took a pass from Matias MacDonough to find the posts and score the golden goal for Chapa Uno.


There would have been another clash of siblings in this match, the best of the day, had erstwhile Pilará-Piaget skipper Marcos Heguy not been sidelined, relegated to coaching, after surgery to an injured shoulder. He would have been opposing his brother Bautista who played for Chapa Uno. 


In the day’s first match at the Hurlingham Club, Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra beat São José Audi 21-13. Forty-goal Ellerstina, fresh from their Torgugas Open triumph last Saturday, featured 10-goal Pieres brothers Gonzalito and Facundo. Two other Pieres’, Nicolás and Pablo, played for São José.