Scone Polo 9 – 8 Vikings The Castle Ground
Great Oaks LL 13 – 7 Park Place The Princes’ Ground
The final day of league play in the Cartier Queen’s Cup kicked off with Scone Polo, looking to enter the quarter-finals with an undefeated 4-0 record, in action against Vikings, who were in need of a victory to reach a penalty shootout. Assembling on the Castle Ground, Rosendo Torreguitar initiated a strong first half effort from Scone Polo, receiving a pass from Adolfo Cambiaso and hitting a neckshot through the goal just 15 seconds into play. Vikings mounted a response due to the exceptional play of Siri Evjemo-Nysveen, who converted both her shots in the first and second chukkas. Turning to young Poroto Cambiaso, Scone Polo’s young talent scored two penalty goals while adding a third goal off a pass from father Adolfo to put his team ahead by one. A back-and-forth first half concluded with the teams tied at 5-all as Vikings continued to use Evjemo-Nysveen at the front of the game as she added her third goal on perfect shooting to highlight Vikings’ attack entering the half-time break. The father-son Cambiaso duo took over in the fourth chukka, combining for three goals while holding Vikings scoreless to instantly change the dynamic of the match and put Scone Polo firmly ahead with two chukkas remaining. Striking again, Adolfo found Poroto for a fourth consecutive goal as time began running out for Vikings to generate a comeback. Increasing the pressure in the final minutes, Mark Tomlinson found the goal on two different occasions to help Vikings pull back within one with just under four minutes still left on the clock. Withstanding a final run from Evjemo-Nysveen, Scone Polo held on for the 9-8 victory and joining Dubai Polo Team as the only teams with a perfect 4-0 record.
Reconvening on The Princes’ Ground for the last of 30 league matches, Great Oaks LL and Park Place met in a match with everything on the line. Holding 2-1 records, the victor would immediately enter the quarter-finals, while the loser would join the evening’s penalty shootout to advance. A fast, open match featured two attacking teams going shot for shot in the early stages. Facundo Pieres and Fran Elizalde added one goal each for Park Place, while Great Oaks LL’s duo of Cruz Heguy and Dillon Bacon answered with goals of their own for a 2-2 score. Great Oaks LL’s Juan Martin Nero broke the stalemate in the second chukka with Great Oaks LL yet to miss a shot through two chukkas of play. On the other side, Park Place struggled to convert their scoring opportunities in the first half, shooting just 33% as their deficit grew to two by halftime, with Bacon and Heguy striking once again for a 6-4 lead. Attempting to seal their ticket into the quarter-finals, a crucial fourth chukka set the tone for the remainder of the match. Park Place was kept off the scoreboard, while Nero and James Beim combined for two goals in a well-rounded team effort from Great Oaks LL. Limited to just one field goal throughout the entire second half, Park Place entered the sixth chukka trailing by four and despite two penalty conversions for Pieres, they fell short in challenging a Great Oaks LL team that shot an accurate 65% on 17 shots to claim this important 13-7 victory and secure their place in the weekend’s quarter-finals.
A shootout was contested shortly after the final game between Park Place, La Magdeleine and Monterosso with two places up for grabs in the quarter-finals. Showcasing exceptional accuracy, Park Place’s Facundo Pieres and La Magdeleine’s Pablo MacDonough advanced, while Monterosso was eliminated from the competition.
Saturday’s Quarter Final Fixtures
12:00 pm – Dubai Polo Team vs Park Place at TBC
3:00 pm – Great Oaks LL vs La Magdeleine at TBC.
The winners of this 3pm game will receive the Platinum Jubilee Trophy, created specifically by Guards Polo Club to honour HM The Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
All games are being livestreamed by Guards TV in association with Polocam TV. Go to https://guards.polocam.tv/package
