La Irenita La Hache and Indios Chapaleufu were victorious over La Dolfina II and La hache Cría & Polo, respectively in the fourth matchdate of the 132nd. Argentine Polo Open, that took place at Palermo, on Sunday November 9.
La Irenita La Hache and La Dolfina II opened fire. For the former, not only it was their debut at Palermo, but also a crucial contest, as they were unable to make it as expected from a team made of remarkable players. So, they definetly went to play this match, searching for what they were looking for, a very much necessary win in order to maintain their hopes alive. It’s worth to notice that La Irenita La Hache only won one game in the current Triple Crown – that was in September, in their opening contest of the Hurlingham Open, when they beat Sol de Agosto 14-11. Meanwhile, La Dolfina II lost to Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu in a very tough first match, that gave Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu plenty of headaches.
Although La Dolfina II opened the scores, with a goal by Isidro Strada, La Irenita La Hache replied quickly, to close that first chukka 2-1 up with two remarkable goals by Hilario Ulloa. From the second chukka onwards, La Irenita La Hache seized the reins – by the end of the sixth chukka, they outscored La Dolfina II 6-1, and they reached half time 13-5 ahead. La Irenita La Hache displayed their best polo, very confident and strong both in attack and defense, determined to get what they were searching for. It’s worth to highlight Hilario Ulloa’s performance, perhaps one of his best, with his perfect accuracy to score goals (by half time he had produced a total of seven), and very well supported by his team mates, especially by Fran Elizalde.
Following two tied chukkas (1-1 and 2-2, fifth and sixth chukka, respectively), a great seventh chukka would follow, with no less than seven goals – four for La Irenita La Hache ((Hilario Ulloa, Nachi du Plessis x2 and Pablo MacDonough) and three for La Dolfina II (Isidro Strada and Lucas Criado x2). Despite La Dolfina II’s efforts, the damage has already been done; with only one chukka left, La Irenita La Hache had an impressive 20-11 lead.
Even with the deal almost said and done, it was not enough for La Irenita La Hache; then added three more goals in the last chukka, to claim a heavy 23-13 victory; therefore, the Ulloa-MacDonough combo reached their main objective – a crucial win in a spectacular debut in the Argentine Open. A win that was much more than a simple win.
Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and La Hache Cría & Polo met up for the second match of the day, in the clash of the unbeaten. The former claimed a hard fought debut win against La Dolfina II, and the latter earned their first victory in the current Triple Crown, against Los Machitos, through a spectacular golden goal by Toly Ulloa in a dramatic contest that ended in extra chukka.
Facundo Pieres opened all the scores, but two penalty conversions by Joaquin Pittaluga gave La Hache Cría & Polo a 2-1 lead halfway the first chukka. However, that first chukka would end tied at 4-all, following two more goals by Facundo Pieres (one from the field and one a 40 yards penalty conversion).
The first three chukkas were very even, with both teams coming and going from the goalposts, and several ties. Each attack from one side was replied from the other side very quickly. Although the first two chukkas saw a slight advantage for Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu, a tight third chukka ended tied at 6-all, showing a very good average of goals scored – a total of 12 in three chukkas. But things would change from the fourth chukka onwards – Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu took control, and managed to widen their advantage to four goals. By half time they were 11-7 up.
Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu outscored their contenders 4-0 in the fifth chukka, which meant that the scoreboard read a 15-7 lead for the Pieres-Heguy lineup. A 1-all in the sixth chukka would follow, and despite Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were 16-8 up, there were still two more chukkas, and La Hache Cría & Polo would never give up.
Toly Ulloa produced a great goal at the start of the seventh chukka; but that was all. Antonio Heguy replied quickly with two unanswered goals; it could have been three for him, but he missed a pass from Gonzalito Pieres, who finally picked the missing ball and found the flags. La Hache Cría & Polo hopes to overturn the result were vanishing. Another goal came from Cruz Heguy’s stick, while Bautista Bayugar produced the last one for La Hache Cría & Polo. A corner converted by Facundo Pieres left the deal said and done. With one chukka remaining, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu had a heavy 21-10 lead; which, at the end of the day, would be the final result, after a scoreless last chukka.
The 132° Argentine Polo Open Championship will be back next weekend, and the schedule is the following:
- SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15
2pm: Sol de Agosto vs. La Zeta Kazak
4,30pm: La Natividad La Dolfina vs. Los Machitos
- SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16
2pm: La Hache Cría & Polo vs. La Dolfina II
4,30pm: La Hache La Irenita vs. La Ensenada
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.