La Dolfina Polo Ranch vs La Esquina Los Machitos
Both entering the game searching for their first win in the 2017 Hurlingham Open, it was La Dolfina Polo Ranch that displayed an impressive team performance to defeat La Esquina Los Machitos 14-6 at AAP Pilar.
Utilizing an efficient offense led by Diego Cavanagh and Guillermo Terrera, La Dolfina Polo Ranch was able to control possession and use quick backhands to start individual runs downfield. Effective defence from Alejo Taranco and Ignatius Du Plessis, focused on minimizing the impact of Mariano Aguerre, as they held him to zero goals from the field and limited his shot attempts at goal. La Dolfina Polo Ranch dominated the second half, scoring the final six goals of the game to finish with the convincing eight goal victory, despite just having a one goal advantage on handicap.
In the first half, La Esquina LM had their chances around goal but only converted two of their seven shot attempts, which kept them from matching the offensive output of La Dolfina Polo Ranch. With a goal each from Cavanagh, Taranco and Du Plessis through the first two chukkas, it was the third chukka where La Dolfina Polo Ranch began to separate themselves. Holding La Esquina LM t zero shot attempts, Cavanagh scored two goals, one from the penalty line and one from the field, while Terrera also added a goal to extend La Dolfina Polo Ranch’s lead to 6-2.
La Esquina LM was within reach at halftime, trailing 6-3, but a quick start to the half for La Dolfina Polo Ranch extended the deficit to 8-3. Rodrigo Andrade answered by scoring his 2nd and 3rd goals of the game, while Pascual Sainz de Vicuna also scored his 2nd goal to close the gap to only two with two chukkas remaining.
The final two chukkas were controlled by La Dolfina Polo Ranch as La Esquina LM found themselves in foul trouble, resulting in two penalty conversions for Cavanagh. Along with goals from Terrera and Taranco, La Dolfina Polo Ranch won the 6th chukka 4-0, putting the game out of reach as they ran away with the game and the eventual 14-6 victory.
Chapaleufu vs La Albertina Abu Dhabi
The last game on a busy 4-game day on the AAP Pilar fields saw La Albertina/Abu Dhabi survive a late push from Chapaleufu to narrowly win 11-10 in the 2017 Hurlingham Open.
In a tale of two games, it was a dominant first half from La Albertina that gave them a four-goal advantage, thanks to strong defensive performances from Alfredo Cappella and Santiago Toccalino, keeping the Chapaleufu attack to 1 for 6 shooting from the field. The second half provided a different story as the defensive errors for La Albertina allowed the Chapaleufu offense to reach the penalty line, and close the deficit. A late run, led by Eduardo Heguy, wasn’t enough as Chapaleufu fell just short in the defeat.
La Albertina utilized a strong offensive showing for Cappella early in the game, as he scored the only goal in the first chukka, following it with two penalty conversions in the following chukka to provide his team with a 3-1 lead. Through the 3rd chukka, Chapaleufu had yet to score a goal from the field as the back line of Cappella and Santiago Toccalino prevented any opportunities close to goal. Eduardo Heguy’s second penalty conversion was the only offense Chapaleufu could generate early in the game as the fell behind 5-2 after the 3rd chukka.
Francisco Elizalde made his impact felt in the 4th chukka, converting both his shot attempts, highlighted by a final run in the final 30 seconds to finish the half an extend La Albertina’s lead to 8-4, as Chapaleufu was struggling to generate enough scoring chances to mount a comeback.
Foul trouble for La Albertina to start the second half gave Chapaleufu the opening they needed as five fouls for La Albertina resulted in three penalty goals, two for Julian de Lusarreta and one for Eduardo Heguy, as Chapaleufu quickly shrunk the deficit to just one goal. La Albertina produced a better chukka in the 6th but were unable to convert their chances, missing three of their four shot attempts, as they maintained a slight two goal advantage heading into the final chukka.
After Eduardo Heguy’s fifth goal of the game brought his team to within one, La Albertina missed three shot attempts to extend their lead, opening the door for Chapaleufu to tie the game. A late drive placed Chapaleufu inside the 30-yard line with time expiring but their final shot attempt rolled just outside the post as La Albertina held on for the 11-10 victory.
