Scapa’s Eduardo Novillo Astrada
(Photo courtesy of Gonzalo Etcheverry)
Dubai (Martín Valent, Patricio Cieza, Luis Domecq and Adolfo Cambiaso) rode out to a 5-3 halftime lead before handing HB Polo (Ludovic Pailloncy, Sebastian Pailloncy, Ignacio Toccalino and Pite Merlos) their first loss of the high goal Silver Cup tournament at Spain’s Santa Maria Polo Club, 11-7.
Scapa (1-0) upset Dubai in opening round play, 9-7, and desperately needed a win to stay in the competition.
In a tentative opening chukker, Dubai took a humble 2-1 lead while both teams were feeling their way around the field.
HB Polo staged a second chukker rally as they scored two unanswered goals. Dubai was unable to get on the scoreboard and trailed 3-2.
Dubai was focused in the third chukker as they scored three goals on offense while a disciplined defense kept HB Polo off of the scoreboard. The first half ended with Dubai basting control of the game and a 5-3 lead.
Three more goals were scored by Dubai in the fourth chukker as HB Polo was unable to score for the second consecutive period. After four periods of play Dubai was on top by five goals, 8-3.
HB Polo picked up a pair of goals in the fifth while Dubai was content to rest their horses. Dubai continued to lead, 8-5.
Dubai scored three of the last five goals of the game in an 11-7 victory. Dubai improved their record to 1-1 with the win while HB Polo fell to 1-1.
Earlier in the day, Scapa (Micvhael Redding, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, Marcos Di Paola and Jack Richardson) scored their second straight win by defeating Royal Salute (Petrusby Fernandini, Alejandro Muzzio, Jaime Huidobro and Malcolm Borwick) the score of 11-9. The win boosts Scapa’s record to 2-0 while Royal Salute slips to 0-2.
Three games are slated to be played on Thursday, August 8 with Halcyon Gallery facing El Rosario in the early game. Later in the day, Ellerston (1-0) takes on Ayala (0-1) with UAE (1-0) meeting Dos Lunas (0-1) at the same time.