Ghantoot and Bin Drai Polo started the Silver Cup in the best possible way by beating Abu Dhabi and Mahra Polo in the first day of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2013 (Dubai Open) 16 Goal Handicap tournament at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club.
Ghantoot defeated Abu Dhabi by a narrow 11 goals to 10 and Bin Drai made the same against Mahra by 10 to 5. The talent of Argentinean star professional Facundo Sola made Ghantoot a strong opponent for Abu Dhabi that, despite their hard work, could not stop the best polo of the winners. Ghantoot and Abu Dhabi offered a great match with intense and quick polo despite of the rain that fall during all day in Dubai.
The good partnership of Pelayo Berazadi and Juan Zubiaurre made things easier for Ghantoot tough triumph. Abu Dhabi, with a great performance of his patron, Faris Al Yabhouni, who score three goals, never gave up and put pressure on Ghantoot during the four chukkas of the game. The difference was on the big talent of Sola and the accurate of his team in the offensive play.
In the second hour match, Bin Drai showed his real intentions on this year tournament by defeating Mahra 10 goals to 5. Despite the difference in the score, Mahra was a strong opponent for the winners and during the first two chukkas took the match in a goal to goal battle. With a good tandem made by Juan José Brane and Salvador Ulloa, Bin Drai accelerate in the final chukkas of the game and started to find the goal in practically every offensive play.
Golden Goal spells 8 to 7 opening round loss for Zedan in Silver Cup
It was the cruelest of defeats that saw a battling Zedan Polo lose out to defending Gold Cup champions and home side, Habtoor Polo 8 to 7 in their first clash of the Dubai Silver Cup at Dubai Polo Club Sunday evening. Every time Mohammed Al Habtoor’s side drew ahead, Amr Zedan’s players found an answering goal until the fourth chukka, when Habtoor Polo went two in front, making the score 7 to 5. Zedan Polo clawed back a goal for 7 to 6 and in the dying seconds of the match equalised for 7 to 7.
That sent both sides into a fifth and final chukka, which Habtoor Polo brought to an abrupt end with a golden goal, dashing Zedan Polo’s hopes of a winning start to their first tournament of the season. “This is obviously not how we wanted to start off the tournament but it is not a disaster,” said Zedan Polo’s Rodolfo Ducos. “We haven’t really practiced enough together and sometimes you pay the price. But we will come back from this. Every team in this tournament is tough and we will be focusing on fixing our mistakes before we ride out onto the field again.”
The Teams:
Abu Dhabi Polo (+16)
Faris Al Yabhouni (0)
Manuel Elizalde (+4)
Juan Jose Storni (+5)
Juan Ambroggio (+7)
Bin Drai Polo (+16)
Saeed Bin Drai (0)
Ignacio Ithurburu (+2)
Salvador Ulloa (+7)
Juan Jose Brane (+7)
Ghantoot Polo (+16)
HH. Sheik Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (0)/ Ali Al Merri (0)
Pelayo Berazdi (+4)
Juan Zubiaurre Canal (+4)
Facundo Sola (+8)
Habtoor Polo (+16)
Mohammed Al Habtoor (0)
Ignacio Bello (+3)
Guillermo Cuitino (+6)
Martinez Ferrairo Ezequiel Edwardo (+7)
Mahra Polo (+16)
Rashid Al Habbtor (0)
Guy Gibrat (+4)
Augustin Canale (+6)
Fernando Pipi Bourdieu (+6)
Zedan Polo (+16)
Amr Zedan (0)
Matias Logioco (+3)
Rodolfo Ducos (+4)
Nachi Heguy (+9)
