Queens Cup coverage-Day 3

By Alex Webbe

La Indiana (Michael Bickford, Nic Roldan, Agustin Merlos and Luke Tomlinson) remained undefeated in 22-goal action by scoring a convincing 13-8 win over Talandracas (Edouard Carmignac, Guillermo Caset, Pelon Stirling and Jack Hyde) in Queens Cup play Saturday afternoon at the Guards Polo Club.

The two teams battled to a 1-1 first chukker tie before the La Indiana offense got on track. Penalty goals accounted for much of the early scoring, but a three-goal second period had La Indiana on top 4-2, a lead they carried through the first half, riding off the field after the third chukker on top of a 6-4 score.

An aggressive Nic Roldan scored consecutive goals in the fourth chukker, extending the La Indiana lead to four goals, 8-4. A 60-yard penalty conversion from Luke Tomlinson made it 9-4, with Jack Hyde getting a goal on the scoreboard for Talandracas to end the period trailing, 9-5.

Agustin “Tincho” Merlos continued to dominate in second half play, adding two more goals from the field. Sapo Caset scored his third goal of the day, but the La Indiana advantage grew to five goals, 11-6, after five periods.

Merlos made it 12-6 in the opening minutes of the sixth period and added another with a follow-up to a nicely-executed run at goal by Tomlinson, 13-6. Ten-goaler Pelon Stirling converted a 40-yard penalty shot for a goal and Talandracas team captain, Edouard Carmignac scored the final goal of the game for a 13-8 La Indiana victory.

Sifani 11, La Bamba de Areco 8

Earlier in the day, Argentine 7-goaler Julian de Lusarreta picked up right where he left off last season when he helped La Indiana earn final berths in both the Queens Cup and the British Open. La Bamba de Areco (Jean Francois Decaux, Diego Cavanagh, Magoo Laprida and Rodrigo Rueda, Jr.) showed the early muscle, however, as they raced out to an early 5-2 lead after the opening two chukkers.

Sifani (Hilali Noordeen, John-Paul Clarkin, Julian de Lusarreta and Guillermo Terrera) bounced back in the third as they shutout La Bamba de Areco and added three unanswered goals of their own. At the end of the first half it was all even at 5-5.

Sifani added two more goals in the fourth with de Lusarreta connecting on an impressive shot for a goal at an extreme angle, 6-5, adding another less than a minute later, giving Sifani a two-goal edge, 7-5. Diego Cavanagh scored on a 60-yard penalty shot to close out the chukker with Sifani in front, 7-6.

Both defenses were at their best in the fifth. Sifani held La Bamba de Areco scoreless, while settling for a penalty goal from de Lusarreta for the only score of the chukker. Sifani stretched their led back to two goals, 8-6.

La Bamba de Areco came up with single goals from Cavanagh and Magoo Laprida in the sixth, but Sifani was determined. Two more goal from de Lusarreta (one on a penalty conversion) and Guillermo Terrera’s third goal of the day were more than enough in the 11-8 Sifani win.

Queens Cup action continues on Sunday with Sommelier (George Hanbury, Juan Gris Zavaleta, Fred Mannix and Alec White) making their tournament debut against Monterosso (Alessandro Bazzoni, Ignacio Toccalino, Santiago Toccalino and Matt Perry) at noon. The second match of the day is scheduled for 3pm and will feature the top two rated players in the game today in Adolfo Cambiaso and the Pieres brothers (Gonzalito and Facundo), both rated at the maximum 10-goals. Cambiaso will be appearing with RH Polo (Ben Soleimani, Tommy Beresford, Adolfo Cambiaso and Rodrigo Andrade) while the Pieres brothers will return with (Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, Charles Cooney, Gonzalito Pieres and Facundo Pieres). Both teams take the field with identical 1-0 tournament records.