Sumaya walks all over El Remanso, Talandracas win in extra time.
By Antje Derks
I would like to put Lolo Castagnola’s foul mood down to the heat, but then I remembered I had seen him in action on less sultry days, and the result was the same. I have never heard a player scream at his other team mates or patron like Lolo. The result was that the other members of El Remanso were frightened to go near the ball, other than perhaps Jamie Huidobro. If Lolo was still worth his nine goal handicap, he might also be forgiven, but frankly I have seen six goalers play better than him this season. He needs to concentrate on his own game before bawling out his team mates.
Sumaya, on the other hand looked slick and together. They scored goal after goal and by the end of the fifth chukka, were leading 12 – 7. El Remanso failed to take advantage of several opportunities that came their way in the final chukka, and with another great goal by Nacho Du Plessis just on the final bell, Sumaya took the game 15 – 8.
The second match at Guards between Azzura and Talandracas was a much more competitive affair, with some real edge-of-the-seat polo. Lucas James stepped into the Talandracas team, taking Alejandro Agote’s place, while he cooled his heels, following his one match ban and £10,000 fine for spitting in the direction of Chris MacKenzie.
It was James who broke away from the pack and scored the first two goals for Talandracas. The pace and flow of the polo was wonderful to watch, George Meyrick pulled a goal back for Azzura, and by the end of the first chukka the score was 4 – 2 to Talandracas. Six goals in seven minutes – exhilarating stuff!
There was drama at the beginning of the third chukka as Marcos Heguy came off his horse and was carted off in an ambulance. After much searching for a replacement that hadn’t played in the tournament, it was decided to allow David (Pelon) Stirling to play, despite his appearances for Loro Piana. In the fourth chukka the substitute (Pelon) was injured and it looked like a sub would be needed for the sub, but after a few minutes play resumed and Talandracas finished the chukka 8 -6 ahead.
The sixth chukka was possibly the most exciting I have seen all season. Bautista Heguy scored a brilliant field goal to equalise for Azzura 9 – 9. Talandracas missed a penalty 4. Pelon, who managed to get Marcos Heguy’s ponies to work brilliantly for him, scored to put Azzura into the lead for the first time. Lucas Monteverde equalised for Talandracas. The match was pushed to extra time, where Guillermo Terrera scored the golden goal for Talandracas, winning the match 11-10.