Facundo Pieres scored ten goals to lead King Power past Clarke & Green, 15-8, to remain undefeated in British Open competition Saturday afternoon at the Cowdray Park Polo Club. (Photo courtesy of Pablo Ramirez)
Argentine 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough scored the first goal of the game for Zacara (Tom Brody, Lyndon Lea, Lucas Monteverde and Pablo Macdonough) but it was the pounding offense of the HB Polo lineup (Ludovic Pailloncy, Ignacio Toccalino, Pelon Stirling and Sebastien Pailloncy) that took control of the game in the third chukker to run out to a commanding 8-5 lead.
MacDonough’s short penalty shot in the first chukker was countered by back-o-back goals from Ignacio Toccalino for a2-1 HB Polo advantage. MacDonough scored the final goal of the chukker to level the score at 2-2.
The two teams matched one another goal for goal in the second period. MacDonough scored early for a 3-2 Zacara lead followed by goals from Ludovic Pailloncy and Sterling that gave HB Polo the led, 4-3. A 60-yard penalty goal from Sterling extended the HB Polo lead to two goals, 5-3. Tom Brodie scored his first goal of the game that brought Zacara to within a goal of the lead, 5-4, with Zacara team captain Lyndon Lea tying the game at 5-5 to end the chukker.
HB Polo took control of the game in the third period and shut down the Zacara offense. An opening goal on a 60-yard penalty shot from Stirling gave the lead to HB Polo, 6-5. Sebastien Pailloncy made it 7-5 with his first goal of the day and Stirling took the ensuing throw-in and raced 150-yards down the field for a goal that had HB Polo in front by three at the end of the half, 8-5.
Monteverde kick-started the Zacara offense with the opening two goals of the fourth chukker that brought his team within a goal of the lead, 8-7, but HB Polo fought back. A costly foul in their own goal was costly for Zacara with Sterling tapping the short penalty shot, 9-7. Toccalino scored the final goal of the period that restored HB Polo’s three goal lead, 10-7.
HB Polo went up by four goals as the fifth chukker got underway. A blistering shot from Stirling from 100-yards out split the goalposts to make it 11-7. Brodie responded with a goal for Zacara, 8-11, but the men in black couldn’t capitalize on a number of close shots on goal and remained down by three goals. Stirling scored on a 60-yard penalty shot, 12-8, with Macdonough scoring the final goal of the period as HB Polo maintained their three goal lead, 12-9.
MacDonough sparked the hope of a Zacara rally with the first goal of the sixth chukker in the opening seconds of play, 12-10, but the HB Polo defense dug in. Brodie scored the final goal of the game in the closing seconds of the game and HB Polo secured the 12-11 win, improving their record to 3-1 and earning a spot in the quarterfinals. Zacara’s record fell to 1-2 with a big game for them on Tuesday against a 2-1 Apes hill team.
Stirling led the scoring with seven goals (four on penalty conversions). Toccalino added three goals with the Pailloncy brothers scoring single goals for the win. MacDonough scored five times for Zacara. Brodie was credited with three goals; Monteverde added two goals and Lea scored once in a losing effort.
King Power Foxes 15, Clarke & Green 8
The British Open defending championship King Power Foxes (Tal Srivaddhanaprabha, Hugo Lewis, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres) scored the first three goals of the game against Clarke & Green (Nick Clarke, Juan G. Zavaleta, Luke Tomlinson and John Paul Clarkin) and galloped out to a 7-3 halftime score on their way to the 15-8 beating they gave their previously undefeated opponent Saturday afternoon at the Cowdray Park Polo Club.
Facundo Pieres opened the scoring followed by goals from Gonzalito Pieres and Tal Srivaddhanaprabha. King Power held Clarke & Green scoreless and led, 3-0.
Juan Gris Zavaleta finally got Clarke & Green on the scoreboard in the second period, 3-1, but King Power responded with three goals (two from Facundo Pieres and one from Gonzalito Peres). After two periods of play, King Power held a decided 6-1 advantage.
Third chukker goals from Zavaleta and Luke Tomlinson were answered by a single goal from Facundo Pieres. Clarke & Green trailed b four goals at the end of the first half, 7-3.
A re-charged Clarke & Green lineup returned to the field to play aggressively through the fourth period. Two goals from John Paul Clarkin and single goals from Zavaleta and Tomlinson went unanswered by King Power, tying the game at 7-7.
King Power got the wake-up call and responded in kind in the fifth period. Facundo Pieres scored five times while older brother Gonzalito Pieres added a goal. A solid defensive effort kept Clarke & Green from scoring as King Power rode out to a commanding 13-7 lead with one chukker left in regulation play.
Sixth chukker goals from Facundo Pieres and Hugo Lewis were answered by a single goal from Clarkin as King Power improved their record to 3-0. The loss was the first of the tournament for Clarke & Green, 3-1. Both teams qualify for the quarterfinals.
Facundo Pieres led the field in scoring with ten goals. Gonzalito Pieres added three goals with Lewis and Srivaddhanaprabha adding single goals for the win. Clarkin and Zavaleta led the Clarke & Green team with three goals each. Tomlinson was credited with two goals in the loss.
British Open action continues on Sunday with Britannia El Remanso (Charlie Hanbury, Ollie Cudmore, James Beim and James Harper) scheduled to play Murus Sanctus (Corinne Ricard, Manuel Elizalde, Facundo Sola and Alfredo Cappella) in a 3pm game. La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Nic Roldan, Agustin Merlos and Julian De Lusarreta) is slated to meet the Cowdray Vikings (George Pearson, Chris Mackenzie, Jack Richardson and Alejandro Novillo Astrada) at 5pm.