Undefeated Piaget fall in British Open quarter-finals
By Herbert Spencer
Stefano Marsaglia’s previously undefeated Piaget fell to Nick Clarke’s Salkeld by 12 goals to 11 in Sunday’s quarterfinals of the British Open Championship for the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
Piaget was the only team in the tournament to have won all four of their league matches, but they came a cropper against Salkeld, a side with a 2-2 win/loss record, losing by a single goal.
After taking and keeping the lead in the first half, Piaget failed to score in the fourth period as Salkeld’s Luke Tomlinson equalised and then put his team ahead 8-7. Clarke’s side increased their advantage to 10-8 in the fifth period.
Piaget’s Ignacio Toccalino scored twice to equalise in the sixth chukka, but Tomlinson then hit the winner for Salkeld before the final bell.
Tomlinson was high scorer for Salkeld, accounting for 9 of their 11 goals. Toccalino scored 8 of Piaget’s 10 points.
In the day’s other quarterfinal, Joachim Gottschalk’s Les Lions hammered Alfio Marchini’s Loro Piana 17-11. During the match Marchini was injured, substituted with Billy Jackson-Stops.
Les Lions will play Jean-François Decaux’s La Bamba de Areco and Salkeld will face Lyndon Lea’s Zacara in Thursday’s semi-finals.