With only a few days left of the league stages of the Cartier Queen’s Cup 2024 victories have never been more important. Few teams remain unbeaten and the quarter-finals are just a week away. King Power is a case in point. They have won a game and lost one so this match against Ferne Park was important. However it did not start as they had planned. Vere Harmsworth’s Ferne Park, looking for their first win, dominated the early part of this match. They were leading 4-1 at the end of the second chukka. At last Ferne Park was able to field its intended line-up as both Pelon Stirling and Cristian Laprida were back in the squd after being injured pre-tournament. King Power got themselves back in the mix at the half-time bell (4-4) but Ferne Park stayed with them at the start of the second half. This was still anyone’s game with the scoreboard reading 6-6 at the start of the fifth. This chukka was dominated by King Power though, with Pablo MacDonough and Nico Pieres firing through three goals to none in reply from Ferne Park. Both players made the most of any space they found to put King Power in control. MacDonough started the sixth with a huge hit to goal to add to King Power’s lead and then converted a penalty four to secure a five-goal lead. This was now too big a stretch for Ferne Park, despite the best efforts of Joachim Pittaluga and Laprida to close the gap.
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Next up was an equally tough match with both La Dolfina Great Oaks and Marques de Riscal looking for their second win in Group Two. Dillon Bacon’s team were in control from the first chukka and were comfortably leading 5-2 at the half-time break. Some strong play from all of the Great Oaks team in the second half saw them push even further ahead 10-6. With such a commanding lead the final result was of little surprise, La Dolfina winning the match by five goals.
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The final game was another great display of four-man polo by Dubai. They overwhelmed Park Place to win this match 13-5. This victory also ensured that Dubai will head into next weekend’s quarter-finals unbeaten. At the time of writing they are the only team to do so. In addition to playing superb, four-man polo, Camilo Castagnola gave another display of outstanding 10-goal sport. He makes the most of any space, can negotiate his way through traffic superbly and fires through shots from distance. Park Place struggled to get into the game, even failing to score in two chukkas. So if polo were a betting sport Dubai’s odds would have shortened substantially.
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Photo credit – Pablo Ramirez