
Cottington Cup 2022
2 - 13 Aug
2 - 13 Aug
28 Jul
The second edition of the Talacrest Prince
of Wales’s Championship Cup started today with Monterosso and Green Gates (rec
1 goal on handicap) launching this 22-goal tournament on the Castle Ground at
Flemish Farm. Monterosso’s Guillermo Terrera traded field goals with Green
Gates’ Cesar Manuel Crespo in the opening chukka. Continuing to match each
other in the second, two shots on goal from Green Gates resulted in success for
Facundo Fernandez Llorente in open play, while an aggressive attacking effort
from Monterosso to place six shots on goal saw just one from Juan Martin Nero
reach the goal line. With Green Gates carrying a one goal lead into the last
chukka of the opening half, Monterosso capitalised on three Green Gates fouls, converting
two penalty goals, while Nero added a field goal to push Monterosso into the
lead 5-3 at the break.
Opening the second half, Noor Khadra’s Green Gates, making their debut in this tournament, applied the early pressure as Crespo hit his first penalty conversion of the match from the 40-yard line, followed by a field goal from Francisco Elizalde. Fouls continued to place Monterosso on the penalty line with American Mackenzie Weisz scoring a penalty of his own to keep Monterosso ahead by one. A crucial fifth chukka for Monterosso allowed them to pull away, in large part due to a strong defensive effort that limited Green Gates to just one goal from Elizalde. Excelling from the field, Terrera and Nero added a goal each to give Monterosso a crucial two-goal advantage going into the sixth chukka, where Alessandro Bazzoni came to life. Scoring an impressive three goals on four shots, Bazzoni pushed Monterosso further ahead to outshoot Green Gates in the latter stages of the contest and claim an 11-7 victory.
In the second match of Wednesday’s opening
doubleheader, Siri Evjemo-Nysveen’s Vikings faced-off against Billingbear Polo
Team (rec 1 goal on handicap). Establishing a dominant start from the outset of
the match, a run of five unanswered goals for Vikings featured contributions
from Juan Martin Zubia and Diego Cavanagh, including a penalty conversion from
each 8-goaler to give their team a commanding 5-1 lead. The newly created
Billingbear Polo Team searched for chemistry in the early moments of the match
with Marcos Di Paola finally finding the goal. This success was met with a swift
response from the Vikings’ Cavanagh who registered his third goal of the first
half to send Vikings into the break with a comfortable 6-2 lead.
In need of a strong start to the second
half, Billingbear Polo Team ran into a determined Vikings squad that built off
their first half momentum to extend the lead further. Assembling another
unanswered chukka, this time with two off the mallet of Zubia and one from
Isidro Strada, Vikings held a commanding seven-goal advantage with just two
chukkas remaining. Struggling to establish an effective attack, Bautista Garcia
scored Billingbear Polo Team’s second goal from the field but constant pressure
from their opponents left them with just one chukka remaining to attempt a
monumental comeback. Outshooting Vikings for the first time in the contest,
Billingbear answered with their strongest chukka of the match, as three goals
from Terence Lent, Garcia and Di Paola steadily chipped into the Billingbear
deficit. With time working against them, Billingbear Polo Team conceded a final
field goal to Zubia, highlighting Vikings’ dominance in this game and ensuring
Siri’s team won 11-5.