Lechuza Caracas Defeat La Indiana to Claim the 2018 Copa de Plata
The Final of the 2018 Copa de Plata featured a dominant second half from Lechuza Caracas to defeat La Indiana 10-6 and claim the 2018 Copa de Plata at the Santa Maria Polo Club.
In a final filled with 10 goal talent, it was the duo of Juan Martin Nero and David Stirling that led Lechuza Caracas to a dominant victory behind a 5-1 second half. Preventing fellow 10-goaler Facundo Pieres from being able to make break away runs, the high-pressure defence of Lechuza Caracas overwhelmed their opponents and resulted in La Indiana converting just one of their final ten shot attempts in the game. La Indiana was able to outshoot Lechuza Caracas due to their set play dominance, winning 15 of 20 throw-ins, but ultimately the inaccuracy of La Indiana, shooting just 26%, prevented them from making a run in the second half. Lechuza Caracas was led by Nero, who led all players with seven goals in the game to lead his team to the tournament victory.
Presented with the opportunities to take an early lead, La Indiana missed their three shot attempts in the opening chukka, while Nero opened the scoring for Lechuza Caracas to give them the one-goal advantage. La Indiana displayed a stronger performance in the second chukka, controlling possession from winning all four throw-ins and converting 3 of their 4 shot attempts to take their first lead in the game. Pieres anchored the La Indiana attack, scoring two goals in the chukka and adding his third before the end of the half, but Lechuza Caracas’ Nero was putting on a performance of his own, adding two more field goals to bring the game back into a 5-5 tie at halftime.
The second half saw Lechuza Caracas pull away from La Indiana by using a high-pressure defence that stifled their opponent’s attack. Holding La Indiana to zero shots, Lechuza Caracas amassed five shots in the fourth chukka but converted just one, while adding a penalty 1 goal which was enough for them to take the narrow two-goal lead. The outcome of the game was heavily impacted by the fifth chukka, as La Indiana relentlessly attacked the Lechuza Caracas goal but failed to convert any of their six shot attempts in the chukka, giving Lechuza Caracas the opportunity to extend their lead. Converting one shot from the field and the penalty line, it was Nero once again that led the Lechuza Caracas attack to extend their lead to four with just one chukka remaining. Desperate to close the deficit, La Indiana continued to shoot at goal but were unable to string together numerous goals, missing nine of their final ten shot attempts, with Lechuza Caracas content to manage their lead. Trading one goal each in the final chukka, Lechuza Caracas held on to their four-goal advantage to finish with the convincing 10-6 victory and claim the Copa de Plata title.