The 132° Argentine Polo Open Championship continued through Sunday November 2 and Monday November 3, with the two League B matches.
La Hache Cria & Polo and La Ensenada – with Sapo Caset back on the saddle – played on Monday. The former were unable to earn a win in this current season, while the latter did very well in the Tortugas Open, by claiming the Drysdale Cup.
The contest was very close from the beginning; and although La Ensenada earned a significant advantage in the fourth chukka, La Hache Cria & Polo managed to make a comeback, until they reached a 14-13 lead with only one chukka left.
Both teams presented battle in the decisive chukka, but despite the attempts, the ball didn’t find the flags on several occasions. The match ended tied at 17-all in regulation time, which meant there would be an extra chukka. Following a remarkable play, Carlos Maria Ulloa produced the golden goal for La Hache Cria & Polo, that secured the Ulloa family’s organisation first win in the current Triple Crown. Much more than a win, indeed, which gives La Hache Cria & Polo a great deal of confidence for the remaining of the tournament.
The last League B contest took place on Monday, with the clash between Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and La Dolfina II. It’s worth to notice that the former is the recent runner up of the Tortugas Open and the latter arrived to Palermo from the Qualification Tournament. In addition, La Dolfina II is the current title holder of the Cámara de Diputados Cup and maintained the same lineup, that includes Gonzalo Ferrari, who subbed in for La Ensenada’s Sapo Caset in Hurlingham and Tortugas.
Peke González opened the scores at the start of the first chukka; Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu managed to tie in the last seconds with a goal by Facundo Pieres. Halfway the second chukka, Gonzalito Pieres produced what would be the chukka single goal to take a 2-1 lead. However, La Dolfina II bounced back in the a close third chukka; and although they outscored their contenders 2-1, the scoreboard read a 3-all, thanks to Facundo Pieres mallet. The tie would remain in the fourth chukka, after the goals from Facundo Pieres and Lucas Criado Jr; by half time they were tied at 4-all.
After a very close first half, La Dolfina II found the flags twice to claim a 6-4 advantage in the fifth chukka. But Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu made their comeback in the sixth – with three unanswered goals by Antonio Heguy, Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres they re took the lead by just one goal, 7-6. Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu would retain that tight lead in the seventh chukka (9-8), until things would be said and done in the last chukka – a corner conversion by Facundo Pieres and a field goal by Antonio Heguy secured the Pieres-Heguy combo a very hard fought 11-9 victory.
THE 132nd. ARGENTINE POLO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP WILL CONTINUE ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8, WITH TWO MATCHES, LA NATIVIDAD LA DOLFINA vs. LA ZETA KAZAK AT 2 pm AND UAE vs. SOL DE AGOSTO.
THE FINAL OF THE 132nd. ARGENTINE POLO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP IS DUE ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 6.
132nd. ARGENTINE POLO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Matías Callejo/Prensa AAP.