Valientebeats Lechuza Caracas, faces La Herradura in Bobby Barry Cup final
ByAlex Webbe
Valiente scored a 9-5 win over Lechuza Caracas Fridayafternoon in the semifinals of the 20-goal Bobby Barry Cup at the InternationalPolo Club in Wellington. The victory securedValiente a berth in Sunday’s finals when they will face La Herradura for the tournament title.
Valiente won by four goals, but it was a far differentstory in the first half of play.
A tenuous first chukker saw all three gals scored come onpenalty shots. Adolfo Cambiaso scoredthe first two with Lechuza Caracas’s Tomas Goti getting them on the scoreboardwith a penalty conversion in the final 33 seconds of the period. Valiente took a narrow 2-1 lead after theopening chukker.
Goti tied it up at 2-2 on a goal from the field in theopening seconds of the second chukker while a disciplined defense kept Valienteoff of the scoreboard. With two minutesleft in the chukker, Lechuza Caracas tem captain Victor Vargas managed to rideSanti Torres off of the ball and score the go-ahead goal. At the end of the second period LechuzaCaracas were on top of a 3-2 score.
Torres converted a penalty shot for a goal to open thethird, but countering goals from Agustin Nero (following up a 100 yard run withthe ball by Vargas) and Goti ended the first half with Valiente trailing by twogoals, 5-3.
A refreshed and refocused Valiente team took the field inthe second half and immediately took control of the game. Fourth chukker goals from Cambiaso and Torreswent unanswered as Valiente tied it up at 5-5.
For the second straight chukker Lechuza Caracas wasunable to mount a successful attack while Cambiaso registered his fourth of theday and Torres added two more from the field. Valiente owned an 8-5 lead with just one chukker left in regulationtime.
Lechuza Caracas continued to struggle with its offense inthe sixth, missing passes and being ridden out of play after play. Julio Gracida scored the final goal in a gamethat found Lechuza Caracas unable to score a single goal in the last threechukkers of the game. Valientecelebrated the 9-5 win while Lechuza Caracas repaired to the sidelines wherethey would discuss their lack of offense and prepare themselves for the nexttournament.
Adolfo Cambiaso and Santi Torres scored four goals apiecefor Valiente. Julio Gracida added apenalty goal in the win. Tomas Goti wascredited with three goals for Lechuza Caracas. Agustin Nero and Victor Vargas each added a goal in a losing effort.
On Sunday afternoon at noon, Valiente will face La Herradura to determine the 2013 winner of the Bobby Barry Cup.