Thai Polo Capture Third Victory in Cartier Queen’s Cup
A game with large implications on seeding in the quarter-finals of the 2020 Cartier Queen’s Cup, Thai Polo captured the significant 12-10 victory over MT Vikings at Flemish Farm on the Castle Ground, improving to 3-1 and advancing into the elimination stages of the tournament.
Leading from start to finish, Thai Polo was led by the seven-goal performance from Tommy Beresford, including 4 of 6 shooting from the penalty line in the victory. Juan Martin Zubia was effective for MT Vikings scoring five goals and working effectively alongside Ignacio Toccalino, who replaced Sebastian Merlos after he received a red card in the second chukka. Early foul trouble resulted in MT Vikings building a four-goal deficit that they were unable to overcome in the 12-10 defeat.
Two early fouls in the opening chukka from MT Vikings resulted in two penalty 2 conversions from Beresford to give Thai Polo the 3-1 lead. Zubia responded as part of an efficient MT Vikings attack, but the team remained trailing by two due to a goal advantage on handicap in favour of Thai Polo. Beresford continued to lead the way offensively for Thai Polo, including a penalty 2 conversion coming from a red card awarded to Merlos. Along with a goal from Ned Hine, Thai Polo outscored MT Vikings 3-1 in the chukka, creating a commanding four-goal lead. Merlos’ replacement Ignacio Toccalino made an immediate impact in the third chukka scoring his first goal to help MT Vikings cut the deficit in half to two at halftime.
With just three combined fouls throughout the entire second half, the outcome was determined in open play, beginning with an exciting fourth chukka that saw three goals from each team. James Beim, Toccalino and Zubia added one goal each, while Thai Polo relied on the duo of Beresford and Hine, who combined for all 11 of their team’s goals in the match. Despite a determined effort from MT Vikings, they were unable to close the two-goal gap on the scoreboard, matched stride for stride by Thai Polo. Hine extended the lead to three in the sixth chukka as a late goal from Toccalino was not enough to challenge Thai Polo in their 12-10 victory.
All matches remain behind closed doors but every game is being filmed and can be viewed LIVE via a pay per view service at guardspoloclub.com/guards-tv.
| Rank | Player | Goals Scored |
| 1 | Tommy Beresford | 25 |
| 2 | Facundo Pieres | 23 |
| T-3 | Joaquin Pittaluga | 21 |
| T-3 | Nico Pieres | 21 |
| 5 | Bartolome Castagnola | 20 |
| T-6 | Ignacio Toccalino | 15 |
| T-6 | Juan Martin Zubia | 15 |
| 8 | Poroto Cambiaso | 13 |
| T-9 | Patrick Maleitzke | 12 |
| T-9 | Juan Gris Zavaleta | 12 |
Images of Polo – Photo Credit