Park Place Captures Victory Over VS King Power
The seventh day of the 2019 King Power Gold Cup featured just one game with Park Place claiming the convincing 13-7 victory over VS King Power behind a dominant start to the second half at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
A quick attack from Park Place overcame early foul troubles to produce 18 shots on goal and hold the advantage in open play. Despite inaccurate 39% shooting from the field, Park Place grabbed control of the game due to the impressive penalty shooting from Juan Britos, who finished 6 for 7 from the penalty line in the game. Despite committing just three fouls, VS King Power conceded a rare five safeties, with Britos’ pinpoint shooting resulting in four goals to lead Park Place to victory.
Intent on playing at a fast pace early in the game, Park Place attacked the VS King Power defence from the opening throw-in to outshoot their opponent 5-0, as well as win all four throw-ins to hold a three-goal lead by the end of the chukka. The high-pressure attack set by Park Place led to them committing three fouls, but all were penalty 5’s allowing their defence to organize and stop the VS King Power set plays. The foul trouble caught up to Park Place in the second chukka, with five fouls resulting in a Penalty 2 conversion for Polito Pieres as VS King Power brought the deficit back to two. Building momentum on their extra possessions, VS King Power’s duo of Pieres and Juan Martin Zubia added a goal each bringing their team within just one goal, as Park Place failed to extend their lead due to converting just one of their five shot attempts to end the first half.
The start of the second half proved to be a deciding factor in the game, with VS King Power watching their comeback slip away due to missed opportunities around goal, as well as conceding multiple safeties to Park Place. Pieres scored a goal from the penalty line and the field for VS King Power, but the game changed behind the penalty shooting of Britos, who converted three of four safety attempts, along with a Penalty 2 to push Park Place into a commanding 11-6 lead. Winning the throw-ins after penalty conversions kept the possession in Park Place’s favour and VS King Power in their own half, leaving VS King Power little opportunity to erase the five-goal deficit. Completing an eight-goal performance with two assists, Britos secured the 13-7 victory for Park Place, improving their record to 2-1 in the tournament.