Argentina defeat England to clinch ‘Copa de las Naciones’ 13-8
Argentina has emerged victorious over England in the finals of the second version of the Copa de las Naciones (Nations Cup) played at Field No. 1, Palermo Polo Cathedral Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Facundo Pieres – the legendary polo pro and world number two stole the show and scored eight times for the winning side.
It was a fine chilly day in Buenos Aires where more than 6,000 people witnessed the crucial finals between the two talented teams. Argentina scored thirteen goals against England, who scored eight.
The Argentinean team comprised of Facundo Pieres, Gonzalo Pieres, Valerio Zubiaurre, and, Thomas Garbarini Islands, while the English foursome consisted of James Beim, Mark Tomlinson, Malcolm Borwick, and, Luke Tomlinson.
Luke Tomlinson – the skipper of the English team opened the game and connected on a couple of penalty shots to establish their first lead in the game.
However, the strikers from Argentina were not sitting around and letting the game go by. Facundo Pieres notched up the first goal for Argentina followed by a series of strikes.
Argentina obtained another six goals until the half time while their resilient defence only allowed one more goal to England. The first half of play concluded with Argentina sitting on top with four commanding goals, 7-3.
It seemed that Argentina has won the match by a convincing lead but it wasn’t. The English side revved it up in the fourth set of play and marked four goals, while minimising Argentina only for a single point. The match entered into a more interesting phase
where both sides were on the verge of a victory. Argentina was holding only a single goal edge with two chukkas left to play.
However, the strikers from Argentina cranked up their offence in the second last chukka and scored four goals, while conceding only one score. Facundo Pieres scored four unanswered goals of which two came on penalty shots, and, two from the field.
In the final set of play, Gonzalo and Facundo scored one goal each and sealed the victory at 13-8. With the victory, the home side clinched the title of the Copa de las Naciones (Nations Cup).
Facundo Pieres was at his best, scored eight goals, and made the victory possible in the critical game. Out of a total eight, four were taken on penalty shots, while others were field efforts. Younger brother, Gonzalo Pieres, scored three times while, Valerio
Zubiaurre, and, Thomas Garbarini added one goal apiece.
From the other side, Luke Tomlinson was the leading scorer with four points, while his teammate Mark Tomlinson, and, James Beim, added a couple of goals apiece in the loss.
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