El REmanso outscored Sifani 2-0 in the final chukker of play to capture their first British Open win, 15-12.
The King Power Foxes (Top Srivaddhanaprabha, Hugo Lewis, Gonzalo Pieres and Facundo Pieres) closed out the first round of play in the 2015 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup for the British Open at Cowdray Park Polo Club Thursday afternoon with an 11-10 overtime win over an ambitious La Indiana foursome (Michael Bickford, James Beim, John Paul Clarkin and James Harper).
Team patron Top Srivaddhanaprabha scored the opening goal of the game on a pass from Facundo Pieres, but for the balance of the chukker the 2015 Cartier Queens Cup champion tried to slow down the attacking La Indiana players. The first period ended with La Indiana holding a 3-1 advantage
Goals were scarce in the second period with the King Power Foxes scoring the only goal of the chukker to cut the La Indiana lead to a single goal, 3-2.
The teamwork and coordination of Gonzalito and Facundo Pieres took its toll on La Indiana. Swarming defense kept La Indiana from scoring for the second consecutive period while the King Power Foxes scored four unanswered goals. At the end of the first half the 6-3 lead belonged to the King Power Foxes.
Cautious play in the fourth period marked the play on the field with Gonzalito Pieres converting a penalty goal, 7-3. John Paul Clarkin responded with a goal from the field for La Indiana. After four periods of play, the King Power Foxes were holding on to a three goal lead, 7-4.
A penalty conversion from Facundo Pieres seemed to keep the King Power Foxes on track as the fifth chukker opened, but that was when the momentum shifted. Three consecutive goals from a determined James Harper cut the King Power Foxes lead to a single goal, 8-7.
English 7-goaler James Beim picked up where Harper left off as sixth period action began. Beim tied the game at 8-8 with the opening goal of the period. The King Power Foxes responded with a score, 9-8. Two more goals from Beim tied the score at 9-9 and then gave his team their first lead since the second period, 10-9. Facundo kept King Power’s hopes alive, scoring the final goal of the chukker, 10-10, to force sudden-death overtime.
After a brief intermission both teams returned to the field to decide a winner in overtime. Both the King Power Foxes and La Indiana struggled for possession of the ball in the throw-in that started the seventh chukker, with the King Power Foxes finally gaining control. A nifty move and great field presence allowed 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres the opportunity to score the winning goal, 11-10.
El Remanso 15, Sifani 12
Earlier in the day it was El Remanso (George Hanbury, Charlie Hanbury, Pelon Stirling and Ollie Cudmore) finally managing to shake off a persistent Sifani (Hilali Noordeen, Max Charlton, Agustin Merlos and Malcolm Borwick) attack to record a 15-12 victory.
Sifani didn’t look like the underdog in first chukker action, scoring three times while holding El Remanso to a single goal, 3-1.
El Remanso bounced back in the second period, scoring three times. Sifani scored twice to maintain a narrow lead, 5-4.
Four goals from El Remanso in the third chukker gave them an 8-6 halftime lead, with Sifani managing a single goal in the period, and it appeared that El Remanso was taking control of the match.
A refocused Sifani rode onto the field in the second half, scoring consecutive goals to level the score at 8-8. The teams traded goals throughout the balance of the chukker for a 10-10 tie at the end of four periods of lay.
Three quick El Remanso goals opened the fifth period and saw Sifani fall behind, 13-10. Agustin Merlos rallied the troops for two goals that cut the El Remanso lead back to a single goal, 13-12 to end the chukker.
In a game that was tied no less than six times, Sifani appeared to be out of gas for the final period. El Remanso scored two sixth chukker goals while holding Sifani scoreless for the final seven minutes as they recorded their first British Open win, 15-12.
Second round play in the Gold Cup for the British Open will get started on Saturday with a 1pm game between UAE Polo Team (Jose Araya, Jr., Lucas Monteverde, Pablo MacDonough and Santiago Stirling) and HB Polo (Ludovic Pailloncy, Cristian Laprida, Ignacio Toccalino and Sebastien Pailloncy). Apes Hill (Ralph Richardson, Mark Tomlinson, Eduardo Novillo Astrada and Tom Morley) and Salkeld (Nick Clarke, Juan Griz Zavaleta, Joaquin Pittaluga and Luke Tomlinson) will be putting their undefeated records on the line in a 3pm game.