SOUTH AFRICA PIP NEW ZEALAND BY ONE GOAL AT THE FIP WORLD CUP ZONE D FINAL AND INDIA BEAT PAKISTAN
Click here to view photos by Brett O’Callaghan.
South Africa staged a magnificent comeback to defeat New Zealand in the dying seconds of the Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Cup Zone D play-off today in Clevedon, South Auckland.
New Zealand got off to a strong start scoring 4 goals to South Africa’s solitary goal in the first 2 chukkas, with New Zealand’s number 1, Michael Henderson, scoring 2 outstanding goals.
South Africa were initially shell-shocked by the speed and teamwork of the men in black, with New Zealand captain Craig Wilson scoring 2 penalties to take the score out to 6 -1 in the second chukka. The third chukka however, was the turning point in the game, when the young South African team started to find form and had a fortunate break with a ‘penalty 1’ ruling. This resulted in a goal being immediately awarded and the South African’s starting the play from where the penalty occurred, which was directly in front of the New Zealand goal, so the scoreboard quickly changed to only a 2 goal difference.
In the next 2 chukkas South African’s young star Nachi du Plessis started to dominate the match with some clever stick work which resulted in him scoring 3 goals. Captain, Gareth Evans, and hardworking forward, Tom de Bruin, also scored a goal each to give South Africa a 9 – 8 win. South Africa have played 2 games and have won both.
Much to the delight of their supporters, the Indian polo team scored an impressive 13 _ – 11 win against their arch rivals Pakistan. India received a _ a goal head start as they were a 13 goal team vs. Pakistan’s 14 goal on handicap.
Pakistan started strong, dominating the scoring in the first chukka by 4 goals to one with Captain Shah Quibilai Alam scoring all their goals. India came alive in the second chukka, with their Captain Angard Kalaan finding some strong hitting form and together with Manupal Godara started to get India scoring. Pakistan scored early in chukka 2 to lead 5 -1 however, the Indian’s fought back to level the scores up at 5 all by the end of the chukka and then carried on their impressive form to take the match.
This loss puts Pakistan out of contention to qualify in the top two for the FIP World Finals in Mexico having lost three matches with only one to play.
DAY FOUR RESULTS
India 131/2 – Pakistan 11
Scorers:
India: Angad Kalaan – 4, Tarun Sirohi – 5, Maupal Godara – 4
Pakistan: Hissam Ali Hyder – 7, Shah Qubilai -3, Raja Samiullah – 1,
South Africa 9 – New Zealand 8
Scorers:
South Africa; Nachi du Plessis – 5, Tom du Bruin – 2, Gareth Evans – 1 + penalty 1 awarded
New Zealand: Craig Wilson – 4, Michael Henderson – 2, Robert Watson 1, Tom Hunt 1
Tomorrow is a rest day with two matches to be played on Saturday: Australia meet South Africa at 2pm and New Zealand play Pakistan at 3.30pm. Both games are being played on Fisher Field, 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