Thai Polo (rec 1 goal) 12 – 10 MT Vikings at Flemish Farm
There was plenty of drama and a substantial number of goals in today’s only Cartier Queen’s Cup match, highlighting how important this game was to both teams. Thai Polo was looking for that all-important third win to give themselves a better chance of heading up League One and going directly to the semi-finals. Meanwhile MT Vikings wanted their second win of the tournament to keep their hopes alive in this year’s competition. The tension was evident from the first minute with penalties from both sides. With the scores at 5-3 to Thai Polo in the second, MT Vikings’ Sebastian Merlos was shown a red card and sent off. This meant that MT Vikings had to play the next two minutes with only three players on the field. Tommy Beresford, who has been the stand-out scorer for Thai Polo, made the most of this opportunity, not only successfully converting the penalty resulting from the red card but also scoring a field goal before the end of the second chukka. Ignacio Toccalino subbed in for Merlos from the third. Known to all as Cubi, he is currently playing for MT Vikings’ sister team, Monterosso, in this tournament and so would have been familiar with Merlos’s horses. This was evident as he fired through a fabulous goal from some distance almost as soon as he took to the field. With team-mate Juan Martin Zubia converting a penalty MT Vikings were now very much back in this game at half-time.
The Vikings attack continued in the fourth with James Beim reducing the gap further to just one goal (7-6). Then Ned Hine, who has impressed throughout this tournament, picked up a shot from Michel del Carril to restore Thai Polo’s two-goal difference. Beresford then ran the entire length of the field to slot through another. The tension was now evident from both sides but although there were plenty of whistles, the viewers on the livestream were treated to some fast and furious play in this chukka. With further goals from both teams the score was 10-8 going into the fifth. Zubia converted a 30-yard penalty and with Ned Hine scoring a field goal, Thai Polo still had their two-goal cushion going into the sixth chukka. Some great defensive play from MT Vikings meant that there was no score for much of this chukka. Then Hine managed to create some space around him and with only two minutes left fired through a goal for Thai Polo. Toccalino, who had been impressive in this game despite only joining half-way through, scored in the dying moments of this match but it was not enough to force extra time. Thai Polo are now not only the only team in League One to have registered three wins so far but they also went home today with the Richard Watt Cup, presented by the Watt family in memory of a former Chairman of Guards Polo Club.
Next Games – Tuesday 11 August
12pm Monterosso Polo Team v Segavas
3pm Next Generation v Park Place
Both matches will be streamed live at www.guardspoloclub.com/guards-tv
Photo Credit – Images of Polo