Park Place Dominates First Half in Victory Over Murus Sanctus
The eleventh day in the 2018 King Power Gold Cup saw Park Place build an early lead to defeat Murus Sanctus 11-9 at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
Park Place dominated the first half with a complete team performance, scoring five goals in a strong third chukka to put Murus Sanctus in a large six-goal deficit. However, Park Place allowed Murus Sanctus to claw their way back into contention due to a high foul count in the second half, with Park Place committing nine fouls. Despite recording zero goals in the final two chukkas, Park Place had a significant enough lead behind the six-goal performance from Juan Britos to hold on for the two-goal victory.
The opening chukka saw Park Place immediately in foul trouble, committing five fouls, yet Murus Sanctus were unable to capitalize on extra possessions, scoring just once from the field and penalty line. Park Place still gained the early lead despite the foul trouble, scoring three goals in the opening chukka and extending their lead to two in a second chukka that saw Murus Sanctus unable to record a shot from the field. The game changed in the third chukka, with Park Place looking unstoppable in a relentless attack that saw them score five goals in the chukka to increase their lead to six. Winning five of the six throw-ins in the chukka, Park Place continued to control the possession and work seamlessly as a team to generate the large lead.
The offense of Park Place slowed in the second half as they looked to protect their lead, while Murus Sanctus pushed to close the deficit in a fourth chukka that saw one goal each from Corinne Ricard, Facundo Sola and Gonzalito Pieres. The indiscipline of Park Place over the final three chukkas allowed Murus Sanctus to continue their comeback, but the inability of Murus Sanctus to convert from the penalty line became a factor as they converted just two of their six attempts in the game. Scoring the final four goals of the game, Murus Sanctus continued their push, but the early six-goal deficit proved to be too much to overcome as Park Place held on for the 11-9 victory.