Murus Sanctus vs RH Polo
Game six of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club featured RH Polo against Murus Sanctus, in a bounce back game for RH Polo as they provided a dominant performance on the way to a 15-7 victory.
After falling to Monterosso in their opening game, RH Polo faced another difficult opponent in a Murus Sanctus team that featured 10-goaler Hilario Ulloa. Holding RH to zero shots in the first chukka, Murus Sanctus opened the scoring on an Ulloa penalty 3 conversion followed by a field goal from Martin Podesta. RH’s Tommy Beresford converted a penalty 2 to keep RH within one goal as Murus Sanctus took a 2-1 lead into the 2nd chukka.
RH began pressuring the Murus Sanctus defense and attacking goal, with Adolfo Cambiaso scoring his first of seven goals on the game. The possession battle was going the way of RH as they forced Murus Sanctus team into committing a penalty 2, which was converted by Tommy Beresford to give RH their first lead of the game.
After gaining the lead, RH didn’t look back, thanks to the pinpoint shooting of Beresford and Cambiaso from the penalty line and the field. Four Murus Sanctus fouls in the 3rd chukka resulted in three penalty conversions for RH Polo as they extended their lead to 6-3 at halftime.
After an even 4th chukka, the game got away from Murus Sanctus in the 5th, as RH blew the game open, winning the chukka 4-0 on perfect 4 for 4 shooting from the field from Adolfo Cambiaso as he increased his goal total to seven for the game. The high number of fouls throughout the game, slowed down play and kept the combination of Ulloa and Facundo Sola in check, not allowing them to breaking away for runs and generate their usual scoring chances. Throughout the game, Murus Sanctus only shot 3 for 7 (43%) from the field, making it difficult to keep up to the high powered offense of RH Polo.
From the 2nd chukka onwards, it was a strong performance from RH Polo as Cambiaso led all players with seven goals, while Beresford added four goals of his own, all from the penalty 2 line. RH converted field shots at a high rate, shooting 9 for 11 (82%) and took advantage of Murus Sanctus fouls to convert all six penalty attempts to finish with the convincing 15-7 victory.
King Power Foxes vs La Bamba de Areco
The feature Sunday 3pm game at Cowdray Park Polo Club in the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Cup saw King Power Foxes fall to La Bamba de Areco in overtime 12-11, as Diego Cavanagh finished off a long run to seal the victory.
Both teams traded goals early in a high powered offensive game that saw a combined ten goals through two chukkas, as the score was tied 5-5, thanks to two impressive goals from distance for Christian Laprida as well as an answer from Facundo Pieres from distance.
However, as close as the first two chukkas were, La Bamba de Areco broke out in the 3rd chukka. After an injury forced Laprida to leave the game, La Bamba de Areco scored four unanswered goals, three from Diego Canvanagh and one from Laprida’s replacement, Francisco Elizalde to take a 9-5 lead into halftime. La Bamba shot a perfect 7 for 7 in the first half, taking advantage of every opportunity against a tough King Power Foxes team.
La Bamba de Areco transitioned into more of a defensive game to begin the second half, holding King Power Foxes to two shots total through the 4th and 5th chukka’s, maintaining their four goal lead heading into the final chukka. However, King Power Foxes rallied to begin the 6th chukka, as three consecutive goals from Facundo Pieres, along with Gonzalito Pieres’ 4th goal of the day quickly erased La Bamba’s four goal lead in less than a five minute span. With time winding down, Facundo Pieres had an opportunity from the penalty 4 line but was unable to convert, keeping 11-11 tie and sending the game into overtime.
With 22 goals already in the match, overtime didn’t last long as Gonzalito Pieres had an open backhand shot in front of goal that was blocked, and quickly run the other way by Cavanagh. Using exceptional horsepower, Cavanagh was just able to outrun Gonzalito Pieres to score his 6th goal of the game and give La Bamba de Areco the 12-11 victory in overtime. Cavanagh was named MVP for his six goal performance on 4/5 shooting from the field and 2/3 from the penalty line.
