Talandracas 13 – 12 UAE Polo Team
La Magdeleine 10 - 8 White Crane
Warm sunshine greeted the players in today’s games, a stark contrast to Saturday’s wintry conditions. First up were Talandracas and UAE Polo Team in action at Cowdray Park. The Carmignacs’ Talandracas were in control for the majority of this match, beating Sheikha Maitha’s UAE Polo Team 13-12 after six frenetic chukkas. Some great four-man polo from the French team, with flashes of brilliance from Polito Pieres, Alejandro Muzzio and Rosendo Torreguitar, kept Talandracas ahead 8-4 at half-time. UAE Polo Team had been in the mix from that first whistle, but Talandracas had the edge. It was not until the fifth chukka that UAE put themselves level (11-11). Some great play from both sides ensured this was now a race to the final bell. A brilliant backhand from Torreguitar added to Talandracas’s score while some fabulous teamwork from Lucas Monteverde Jnr, Teodoro Lacau and Tommy Beresford, put the scores level once more. This was just the first two minutes of the sixth chukka. With the clock ticking down Torreguitar sent a shot to Pieres who kept control of the ball to fire through another goal for Talandracas. This turned out to be the winner as Beresford sent a penalty four wide and neither side could find the flags again, despite their best efforts. This victory keeps Talandracas unbeaten with one game to play on the last day of the league matches – Wednesday 5 June.
Queen’s Cup action moved back to Guards Polo Club for the second match of the day – White Crane v La Magdeleine. This was a more stilted affair on the Queen’s Ground, probably because both teams needed a win and so the tension was palpable. White Crane started strongly and were 2-0 up early into the second. However by the end of this chukka La Magdeleine were 4-2 ahead. With James Harper scoring for Alexie Calvert Ansari’s White Crane and Jeronimo del Carril finding the flags after some lovely play for Alexandre Garese’s La Magdeleine, the scoreboard was reading 5-3 at half-time in favour of La Magdeleine. This was still anyone’s game, but strong defensive play from both teams ensured that La Magdeleine were able to maintain their advantage and register their first win of the tournament, 10-8. There were some lovely plays from both sides throughout this match – Garese himself produced a good run to goal in the fourth and team-mate Facundo Fernandez Llorente delivered a brilliantly angled shot to goal from some distance, while White Crane’s James Harper delivered a huge hit to goal having gained possession from a throw-in in the fifth chukka. Despite these moments, this game never really flowed, such was their compatibility. Victory did mean that Garese received the Richard Watt Cup from General Sir Redmond Watt at the post-match prizegiving. This trophy is traditionally played on the second Sunday of the Queen’s Cup competition.
Images copyright Pablo Ramirez & Clive Bennett (Cowdray Park images)
