The second matchdate of the 85th. Tortugas Open, the second leg of the prestigious Triple Crown in Argentina, was held on Saturday October 11, at the Tortugas Country Club. Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and UAE were victorious over La Ensenada and La Hache Cría & Polo, respectively.
In a match that was more complicated than expected, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu earned a last seconds 16-15 win over La Ensenada. Both teams are still playing with replacements – Lorenzo Chavanne is subbing in for Antonio Heguy in Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu, and Gonzalo Ferrari subs in for Guillermo Caset. The two of them are injured and on the mendd.
The contest had a very leveled first half, plenty of ties and with the two teams exchanging the leadership and reached half time with Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu leading 9-7. The story would change in the fifth chukka, when Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu outscored La Ensenada 4-1, which meant that the scoreboard read a 13-8 advantage; however, La Ensenada replied in the sixth chukka. They bounced back slowly with two goals produced by Jerónimo del Carril, and by the time they reached the seventh chukka, La Ensenada made a remarkable comeback – from five goals behind they closed the gap to just two – 12-14. A hotter than hell last chukka would follow, when Jero del Carril converted a penalty, and with two minutes to go into regulation time, Gonzalo Ferrari tied at 15-all. Everybody feared an extra chukka, but Cruz Heguy came up with 30 seconds in the clock to score the winning goal.
It’s worth to notice that the two substitutes, Lorenzo Chavanne and Gonzalo Ferrari, were the highlights of the match; in addition, the two of them are playing the qualification tournament, for Kazak and La Dolfina II, respectively. With regards to full members, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu’s Rufino Bensadon and Cruz Heguy delivered remarkable performances, and La Ensenada’s flagship man was Jerónimo del Carril, who demonstrated his perfect accuracy to convert penalties.
UAE, the recent runner up of the Hurlingham Open, and La Hache Cría & Polo played the second game of the day, which was indeed a walk on the park for the former. Under the command of an indomitable Polito Pieres, UAE reached an unexpected 12-0 lead in the third chukka. UAE swept their contenders, who weren’t able to score until halfway the fourth chukka, when Bautista Bayugar found the flags twice. Although UAE remained as the dominating force, they slowed down a bit in the second half, probably because they already knew they had secured the victory. Although UAE had a comfortable 17-7 lead by the start of the last chukka, La Hache Cría & Polo managed to bounce back, and outscored them 6-1. Anyway, the damage has been done; UAE, with no less than fourteen goals scored by Polito Pieres, won 18-12 in a remarkable debut in the Tortugas Open.
The 85th. Tortugas Open will resume as follows:
- TUESDAY OCTOBER 14
1.30pm: Los Machitos vs. Sol de Agosto
4pm: La Natividad La Dolfina vs. La Irenita La Hache
- WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15
1,30pn: Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu vs. La Hache Cría & Polo
4pm: UAE vs. La Ensenada
THE FINAL OF THE 85th. TORTUGAS OPEN WILL BE PLAYED ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 25.
85th. TORTUGAS OPEN – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Matías Callejo/AAP