Talandracas 13 – 12 La Magdeleine
White Crane 11 – 9 Cibao La Pampa
The first overtime of the 2024 Cartier Queen’s Cup occurred this afternoon. A thrilling game, almost an exact copy of last year’s final, resulted in a win for Talandracas. However Edouard Carmignac’s squad had to work hard for this victory as La Magdeleine were a tough and committed opposition. With both teams level (2-2) at the end of the first, the lead then switched between teams almost chukka by chukka. At the half-time break it was Alexandre Garese’s La Magdeleine who were leading, 6-4. Talandracas then fired through four goals to give them the lead (8-6) at the end the fourth. This was edge-of-the-seat polo for players and spectators alike. La Magdeleine’s problems increased in the fifth when Facundo Fernandez Llorente was sent to the sin bin for two minutes. Incredibly, Talandracas could not take advantage of player superiority, although they did find a goal later in the chukka. So with the scores reading 9-8 in favour of Talandracas there was all to play for. The teams did not disappoint, seven goals were scored in the sixth chukka. Talandracas were still ahead, 11-9, with four minutes left on the clock. La Magdeleine then delivered an impressive comeback, scoring four goals in as many minutes. With the clock ticking down, Alejandro Muzzio won the throw-in and fired a shot up to Pablo Pieres. He lost the ball but Muzzio was there to fire through the equalizer to ensure extra time. The seventh chukka had a few minutes of up and down play before Talandracas were awarded a penalty. Pieres fired this through to make it two out of two for Carmignac’s team.
The second game of the day was another tussle between two evenly matched sides. Alexie Calvert-Ansari’s White Crane won the game 11-9, but Juan Pepa’s Cibao La Pampa fought them every step of the way. The latter were ahead after two chukkas (3-2), only to lose their advantage at the half-time bell; the scoreboard was reading 5-4 to White Crane. The scores were all tied 6-6 in the fourth and now the pressure was on both sides to push ahead. The fifth chukka belonged to Cibao La Pampa, firing through three goals to none in reply from White Crane. However it was a very different story in the sixth. As Tommy Panelo said to Polocam TV in his post-match interview: “The fifth chukka was really bad. We needed to go for it [in the sixth].” Go for it they did, not only scoring five goals but stopping Cibao La Pampa from scoring either. This goal-rush gave White Crane their first win with a scoreline of 11-9.
Images copyright Pablo Ramirez
