Queen’s Cup – Day 13

Scone Polo 13 – 8 Black Bears                                    The Queen’s Ground
UAE Polo Team 8 – 7 Park Place Vaara                   The Duke’s Ground

 The Cartier Queen’s Cup continued Monday at Guards Polo Club on the historic Queen’s and Duke’s Grounds, beginning with Scone Polo and Black Bears meeting in a must-win game for both teams holding a 1-2 record. Scoring just seconds into the match, Poroto Cambiaso gave Scone Polo the early lead, but the rest of the first chukka belonged to Black Bears as they scored three consecutive goals, including Penalty 3 and 4 conversions from Juan Martin Nero. Withstanding the pressure from Black Bears, Scone Polo dominated the remainder of the half, scoring eight of the next nine goals behind exceptional play from Poroto Cambiaso. Responsible for six of the eight goals during the run, Cambiaso shot a perfect 2 for 2 from the field and 4 for 4 from the penalty line in a masterclass for Scone Polo, who held a 9-4 lead at halftime. Black Bears exited halftime needing to slow the relentless Scone Polo attack and they did just that, holding their opponents scoreless in the fourth chukka while receiving back-to-back goals from Nero to pull within three. Shooting an astounding 75% from the field in the game, Scone Polo took advantage of every opportunity in the late stages of the match, while Black Bears shot just 22% in what was the difference as Scone Polo claimed the 13-8 win.

A tough defensive battle was seen between Park Place Vaara and UAE Polo Team on The Duke’s Ground with a goal in the final seconds determining the victor. Primarily played in the middle of the field, UAE Polo Team and Park Place Vaara played an open flowing first two chukkas as Bartolome Castagnola Jnr and Hilario Ulloa exchanged goals. Two more goals off the mallet of Ulloa, one on a Penalty 2 conversion, gave Park Place Vaara a one-goal lead but it was short-lived as UAE Polo Team finished the half on a high-note. Scoring four of his team’s five goals in the half, Castagnola added two goals in the third chukka to give UAE Polo Team the 5-4 advantage at the break, but much was to be decided in the second half. Ulloa restored a tie between the two teams to begin the second half as chances continued to be hard to come by. Producing his first goal of the match, Lucas Monteverde Jnr sent the ball through the posts as the score bounced in and out of a tie. Making a significant impact, Varvara Borodina scored her first goal in the fifth chukka and then hit an impressive neckshot early in the sixth chukka to tie the score at 7-all. Time ticked down and the teams remained deadlocked with overtime seeming likely, but UAE Polo Team found some final second heroics. Avoiding disaster on their knock-in, Tomas Beresford carried the ball downfield and found Monteverde Jnr on a pass to goal that he ran through for the thrilling 8-7 victory.

 Tuesday’s Fixtures

12:00pm – Clinova vs Park Place at The Oaks
3:00pm – Dubai Polo Team vs Monterosso at The Princes’ Ground

All games are being livestreamed by Guards TV in association with Polocam TV. Go to https://guards.polocam.tv/package

Photo Credit: ©Pablo Ramirez
Video Credit: ©Polocam