Rated at 9-goals in England this year, the best Back in the world and the Number 3 ranked player in the game has been a welcome addition to the Dubai lineup, joining Adolfo Cambiaso and helping them run up a 3-0 record in Cartier Queens Cup play at the Guards Polo Club.
A 15-9 win by Dubai (Rashid Albwardy, Kian Hall, Adolfo Cambiaso and Juan Martin Nero) over Zacara (Jack Hyde, Lyndon Lea, Lucas Monteverde and Pablo MacDonough) moved Cambiaso and company into the quarterfinals of the Cartier Queens Cup as they improved their record to 3-0 while Zacara suffered their first loss of the tournament and stand at 2-1.
The play was choppy in the opening chukker with too many whistles in a closely contested match. Dubai struck first with a goal from the field from Juan Martin Nero. Lucas Monteverde leveled the score, 1-1, with a 30-yard penalty conversion as the hotly-contested game attracted whistle after whistle. Nero closed out the first period with a 30-yard penalty conversion, giving Dubai the early lead, 2-1.
Ten-goaler Pablo MacDonough tied the game at 2-2, scoring on the end of a long run, but Dubai fought right back as Dubai took control of the second and third chukkers. A goal from Nero, 3-2, was followed aby a volley of Dubai shots on goal that had Dubai in front by two goals, 5-3, when Cambiaso demonstrated why he is considered to be the best in the game. A goal from the field was followed by a penalty goal for a four goal lead, 7-3. With just seconds on the clock, Jack Hyde scored on a well-executed nearside neck-shot that cut the Dubai lead back to three goals, 7-4, to end the first half of play.
MacDonough opened the second half of the game with a penalty conversion, 7-5, and then hit a streaking Hyde on a downfield pass that was converted for a goal that cut the Dubai lead to a single goal, 7-6. Nero added a goal from the field and MacDonough countered with a penalty goal, 8-7. Cambiaso scored the final goal of the chukker on a 40-yard penalty conversion that had Dubai in front by two goals, 9-7.
MacDonough got Zacara right back into the mix with a penalty goal that opened the fifth chukker, and cut the Dubai lead down to a single goal again, 9-8, but that would be as close as they would get. Cambiaso converted two penalty shot s and added a goal from the field to slam the door on Zacara at the end of the fifth with a 12-8 lead.
Nero extended the Dubai lead to five goals in the opening seconds of the sixth period, 13-8. MacDonough answered with a 30-yard penalty goal at the 5:40 mark but ensuing goals from Nero (penalty goal) and team captain Rashid Albwardy had Dubai running away with the game, 15-9.
Britannia El Remanso 13, RH Polo 8
Later in the day at Coworth Park Britannia El Remanso (Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore, James Beim and James Harper) handed RH Polo (Ben Soleimani, Ali Patterson, Rodrigo Andrade and Nico Pieres) their third consecutive loss in Cartier Queens Cup action (0-3) while improving to 2-1 themselves.
The two teams traded goals in the early going, tying at 2-2 after the first chukker.
Both defenses tightened up in the second period with Nico Pieres scoring the only goal of the chukker on a 30-yard penalty conversion as RH Polo took a narrow 3-2 lead.
James Harper tied the game at 3-3 with the opening goal of the third chukker only to have Pieres give the lead back to RH Polo on a goal from the field. Harper missed a penalty shot but redeemed himself by converting a neck-shot for a goal to even the score at four goals apiece. Charley Hanbury stole the lead in the final seconds of the first half, allowing El Remanso to ride of the field at the end of the first half with a 5-4 advantage.
Hanbury outdid himself in the fourth scoring from an extreme angle just yards off of the back line to make it 6-4. Pieres responded with back-to-back penalty conversions that tied the game at 6-6. Harper scored the final goal of the game on a 30-yard penalty shot that kept El Remanso in front, 7-6 after four chukkers.
The final two periods belonged to El Remanso as they held RH Polo to just two goals while adding seven goals of their own in a 13-8 victory for El Remanso.
The RH Polo loss knocks them out of the competition while Britannia El Remanso (2-1) will face Zacara (2-1) in a penalty shootout on Sunday.
Cartier Queens cup play continues on Saturday with a noon match between Apes Hill (George Hanbury, Mark Tomlinson, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Alec White) and King Power (Top Srivaddhanaprabha, Pepito Araya, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres), followed by a 3pm meeting between HB Polo (Ludovic Pailloncy, Ignacio Toccalino, Pelon Stirling and Sebastien Pailloncy) and La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Nic Roldan, Agustin Merlos and Julian de Lusarreta) at 3pm.