Hong Kong, winners of the 2013 Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup in Tianjin, China.
The combination of international players that made up the Hong Kong polo team (Dirk Gould, Joao Ganon, John Paul Clarkin and John Fisher) for the 2013 Fortune Heights Super Nations Cup seemed to be the proper combination as they steamrolled England (Henry Fisher, Mark Tomlinson, Luke Tomlinson and Nacho Gonzalez) 11-7 in the finals on Saturday afternoon at China’s Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club.
Luke Tomlinson scored the opening goal of the finals but that was if for England in the first chukker. Joao Ganon scored twice and John-Paul Clarkin added a goal as Hong Kong rushed out to an early 3-1 lead.
The English defense tightened in the second period, but Clarkin scored his second goal of the game to put Hong Kong ahead, 4-1. Luke Tomlinson got England on the scoreboard at the 4:12 mark to close out the scoring. Hong Kong left the field on top of a 4-2 score.
Hong Kong continued to hack away at the English defense in the third. Ganon opened the chukker with his third goal of the day. John fisher scored his first goal of the game and Ganon gave Hong Kong a five goal lead, 7-2, just over two minutes into the chukker. Neither team scored for the balance of the chukker as Hong Kong ended he first half with a healthy 7-2 advantage.
Dirk Gould scored the opening goal of the second half as England struggled to formulate an effective attack. Good defensive play ended the scoring for the remaining five minutes of play. Hong Kong extended their lead to six goals, 8-2.
Luke Tomlinson scored in the opening seconds of the sixth chukker, 9-5, but was countered by a goal from Clarkin two minutes later, 10-5. Luke Tomlinson added another goal with less than three minutes left in regulation time, 10-6. Ganon split the goalposts for Hong Kong at 5:05 to keep Hong Kong in front, 11-6. Luke Tomlinson completed his hat trick with his third goal of the chukker, but it was little compensation as Hong Kong celebrated the 11-7 victory.
Ganon was credited with a team-leading five goals. Clarkin scored three times and was named MVP for his efforts. Gould added two goals and Fisher scored once for the win. Luke Tomlinson’s five goals set the pace for the English attack. Mark Tomlinson scored the only other two goals in a losing effort.
Roxy Chick, played by the Hong Kong team, received the Best Playing Pony award.