NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA WIN THEIR MATCHES ON DAY ONE OF THE FIP WORLD CUP ZONE D FINALS
Click here to view photos by Brett O’Callaghan.
The first match of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Cup Zone D tournament 2007 got off to the perfect start for hosts New Zealand today with a 13-7 victory over India. New Zealand captain, Craig Wilson, scored over half of his team goals in a superb performance played at Ryburn Park, Clevedon. Wilson was ably backed up by Robert Watson who got through a lot of work in the mid field which cleared the way for his Captain.
India struck trouble in the 2nd chukka when their back, Simran Shergill, injured his hand and had to be replaced by Tarun Sirohi. At half time in the match New Zealand held a 8-4 lead. Manupal Godara was in every attack for the Indian’s. The slick team work and stick work by the men in Black was the deciding factor in the match.
In the second match of the day, Australia just got the win, 7-6, against a very determined Pakistan team who held the lead for the first 2 chukkas. Then Australia’s Andrew Williams struck back with two penalties and a field goal to get his team back into the match. The score was neck-and-neck along in the middle chukkas with only a goal in it at all times.
Pakistan had a 6-5 led when they rode out for the final chukka. Andrew Grimes evened the scores for Australia and then Dirk Gould ran the length of the field with the ball to score a sensational goal to put Australia in front. Pakistan’s Hissam Ali Hyder, who played brilliantly all match, had the chance with 10 seconds left in the match to draw the match with an open goal penalty, unfortunately for Hissam, his Penalty hit was a hooked shot which went left as did the chance of drawing the match.
DAY ONE RESULTS
Match 1: New Zealand 13 – India 7
Scorers:
New Zealand: Michael Henderson – 3, Robert Watson – 3, Craig Wilson – 7
India: Angad Kalaan – 2, Manupal Godara – 4, Tarun Sirohi – 1
Match 2: Australia 7 – Pakistan 6
Scorers:
Australia: . Andrew Williams – 4, Dirk Gould – 1, Matty Grimes – 2
Pakistan: Hissam Ali Hyder – 2, Shah Qubilai Alam – 3
Tomorrow sees Pakistan back to play South Africa at 2:30pm at Smiths Lawn, Ryburn Park, Clevedon.
The 50 world-class players representing Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, India and New Zealand are competing to win a place in the FIP World Cup final to be played in Mexico in September 2007. The players arrived in Auckland last week, and spent the weekend choosing from more than 150 ponies, all provided by host nation New Zealand. The Zone D play-offs continue in Clevedon every afternoon this week (except Friday) with the final day play on Sunday 4th March. Admission is free weekdays, and everyone is welcome to come along and get behind one of the teams.
For further information visit www.fippolonz.com
Day One Teams
New Zealand: Michael Henderson, Robert Watson, Craig Wilson, Tom Hunt.
India: Abby Pathak, Angad Kalaan, Manupal Godara, Simran Shergill replaced by Tarun Sirohi
Australia: Neil Craig, Dirk Gould , Matty Grimes, Andrew Williams
Pakistan: Ahmed Tiwana, Raja Samiullah, Hissam Ali Hyder, Shah Qubilai Alam