Zacara remains perfect, 4-0; King Power wins on last second goal

By Alex Webbe

Sporting an impressive 3-0 record going into Monday’s game with HB Polo (Ludovic Pailloncy, Ignacio Toccalino, Pite Merlos and Sebastien Pailloncy) the defending Cartier Queens Cup championship Zacara polo team (Facundo Pieres, Lyndon Lea, Gonzalo Deltour and Matt Perry) recorded a 14-9 win, ending qualifying play at 4-0 and finishing top seeded in League Three play.

HB Polo received two goals by handicap but it was Zacara that scored the first goal from the field in the afternoon action on the Zacara polo grounds, 2-1. HB Polo responded with a goal that had them on top of a two goal, 3-1 lead when Zacara fired back. Consecutive Zacara goals ended the period with the teams al even at 3-3.

Zacara took control of the game in the second period. Three consecutive goals were scored by Zacara before HB Polo managed to get on the scoreboard. After two chukkers of play it was Zacara leading, 6-4.

A defensive third chukker saw goals at a premium. HB Polo accounted for the only goal in the chukker and the first half ended with a closely contested 6-5 Zacara lead.

Zacara scored the first goal of the fourth to take a two goal advantage, 7-5, but HB Polo wasn’t going to make it easy for the defending champion. Consecutive HB Polo goals tied it up at 7-7 Pieres converted a penalty shot to give Zacara the lead, 8-7.

Zacara charged out onto the field for the fifth with guns blazing. With Pieres at the helm, Zacara rang up four unanswered goals. With one chukker left in regulation play Zacara was in front by five goals, 12-7.

Masterful hand-eye coordination had Pieres take possession of the ball and send a screaming pass downfield to a streaking Lyndon Lea. Lea converted the pass into a goal. Toccalino accounted for both of the HB Polo sixth chukker goals, but it wouldn’t be enough. A final HB Polo miscue resulted in a penalty that saw Pieres convert a 30-yard shot (his tenth score of the afternoon) for the final goal of the game and a 14-9 Zacara victory.

King Power 13, Sifani 12

King Power (“Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, Pablo Llorente, Gonzalito Pieres and Marcos di Paola) rebounded from a two goal deficit in the final two minutes of the game to beat Sifani (Hilali Noordeen, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Nic Roldan and Juan Ambroggio) in the final seconds of play on a goal from Marcos di Paola to register a 13-12 win over a disappointed Sifani foursome after a fierce battle Monday afternoon.

Both teams took the field with one win and two losses, and were looking to level their respective records with a win and score an outside chance that they might make it into the 2014 Cartier Queens Cup quarterfinals.

Frist chukker goals by Gonzalito Pieres and Marcos di Paola were answered by a single goal from Sifani. At the end of the first period, King Power was in control of a 2-1 lead.

Sifani responded with three second chukker goals and shutout defense to take the lead, 4-2, asking Power was unable to break through a stingy Sifani defense for a score.

Nic Roldan led the charge in the third as Sifani, but King Power responded goal for goal. At the end of the first half Sifani remained in the lead, 7-5.

A rejuvenated King Power team returned to the field in the fourth chukker with a chip on their shoulder. Pieres led the four goal fourth chukker attack with three goals. Sifani was unable to get their offense on track and fell behind, 9-7.

Roldan converted a pair of penalty shots in the fifth. This time it was King Power who were unable to get on the scoreboard. The score was deadlocked at 9-9.

An alert Pieres stole the ball from Sifani and raced down the field for a score, 10-9. Roldan responded back for Sifani with three penalty conversions, putting Sifani back in the lead, 12-10. A goal mouth penalty by Sifani resulted in a penalty shot that was converted by King Power, cutting the lead to one goal, 12-10. With under a minute to play, Marcos di Paola scored the winning goals, both on penalty conversions, and giving King Power the 13-12 victory.

Cartier Queens Cup play continues on Tuesday with a noon contest between Black Bears (Guy Schwarzenbach, Facundo Sola, John Paul Clarkin and Patrick O’Dwyer) and Talandracas (Edouard Carmignac, Juan Martin Nero, Polito Pieres and Santiago Stirling). At 3pm Cortium (Guy Schwarzenbach, Facundo Sola, John Paul Clarkin and Patrick O’Dwyer) faces UAE Polo (Maitha Al Maktoum, Lucas Monteverde, Pablo MacDonough and Ollie Cudmore).