Monterosso vs Talandracas
The 9th game of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club saw Talandracas square off against Monterosso, using a dominant start in the second half to pull away for the 13-10 victory.
In a tightly marked game that saw a combined 23 fouls, Talandracas’ Guillermo Caset used strong penalty shooting, converting seven of eight penalty attempts, to overcome Talandracas’ 43% shooting on the game. Six consecutive goals for Talandracas in the 4th and 5th chukkas, gave them a four goal lead late in the game and sealed the victory behind an impressive 12 goals from Caset.
Due to fouls early in the game, play was stop and start throughout the first half, providing each team with scoring chances from the penalty line. Perfect 4 for 4 penalty shooting from each team in the first half accounted for a significant part of the offense, but Monterosso was able to gain a two goal advantage heading into halftime, thanks to 3 for 6 shooting from the field, while Talandracas was 1 for 5 shooting.
The second half was all Talandracas as they scored six unanswered goals to begin the half, five from Caset and one goal from Hugo Lewis, while holding Monterosso to one shot attempt in the 4th and 5th chukkas. The key for Talandracas was limiting their fouls as it allowed the ability of 10-goalers Caset and David Stirling to control possession throughout the second half. Caset showed his exceptional scoring ability, finishing with 12 goals on the game on 7 for 8 shooting from the penalty line and 5 for 10 shooting from the field.
Monterosso built up too much of a deficit by the end of the 5th chukka, that two goals from Ignacio Toccalino and one goal from Matt Perry weren’t enough, as Talandracas cruised to the 13-10 victory, becoming the first team to reach two wins in the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup.
Murus Sanctus vs Sommelier
The 10th game of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup saw Sommelier (0-1) overcome Murus Sanctus (1-0) in a game of contrasting styles which came down to the final minute.
It was Sommelier’s balanced passing attack that provided them with the edge in the second half over Murus Sanctus’ individual attacks.
Sommelier converted six of seven shot attempts in the final three chukkas, with two field goals each from Alec White, Juan Gris Zavaleta and Fred Mannix as they held on for the victory.
Sommelier pressured Murus Sanctus early in the game but were unable to put the ball through the goal posts, as they missed five of their first six shots at goal. Murus Sanctus countered with 10-goaler Hilario Ulloa as he made his first two shot attempts, while Facundo Sola added a goal of his own to give Murus Sanctus the early 3-2 lead.
Fourteen-year-old Mia Cambiaso, playing in place of Corinne Ricard, displayed exceptional riding ability throughout the game, nearly missing a shot at goal off a pass from Ulloa.
Fred Mannix tied the game in the 3rd chukka with his 2nd and 3rd goals of the game, as Sommelier finished the first half tied 4-4, holding a potent Murus Sanctus offense to four goals. Sommelier began taking advantage of their shot attempts in the second half, with Zavaleta finishing off two runs, along with Alec White finishing a run of his own to give Sommelier the two goal lead. Along with the strong defensive play from George Hanbury, the balanced offense for Sommelier gave Murus Sanctus some difficulty late in the game.
Ulloa and Sola tried to claw Murus Sanctus back into a tie, scoring three and two goals respectively in the final two chukkas, but Sommelier, led by Fred Mannix’s six goals, held on for their first victory in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup.
