Heathcote edge past Circa to ride into 2011 Monty Waterbury Polo Cup title-claiming fight
Tommy Biddle marked the game-winner in the sudden-death round, as Heathcote edged past Circa by a single goal in the semi-final match of the 2011 Monty Waterbury Cup being contested at the Bridgehampton Polo Club in California on August 10.
The semi-final competition proved that the two teams have had worth to play for getting a berth in the title-claiming fight. The two teams battled each other quite aggressively and decided the game in extra-time.
Highest goal-scorer of Heathcote – Tommy Biddle spoke to the media about their experience saying that they volleyed a pair of brilliant hits into the backboard after making a comeback into the match. He stated, “We knocked-in and carried the ball the length
of the field for the goal. It was the seventh chukker of a game played on a very heavy field. It seemed as if all three of us were going in slow motion.”
Tommy Biddle scored all the eleven goals and made the victory possible. They earned a pair of handicap goals while Biddle doubled the tally in the first seven and half minutes of play. The Circa team failed to get into the scoring-net and was trailing by
four goals after the first set of play.
The action from Circa started in the second chukka when Magoo Laprida managed three goals of which one was scored from the field while others on penalty shots. On the other side Biddle added two goals and held back three-goal edge, 6-3 after two frames.
Interestingly, the high-flying Heathcote failed to score a goal in the third set of play and complete action belonged to Circa. From the other side, Martin Pepa, Guille Aguero and Laprida accounted for one goal each and tied the knots at six-all at the half-time.
The pace of the game increased and nine goals were scored in the fourth set of play and amazingly all were done on penalty shots. Biddle converted three goals while Laprida did it twice in the seven and half minutes of play. The chukka ended with Heathcote
holding one goal edge, 9-8 over Circa.
In the last two chukkas, both the teams displayed superb action and Circa obtained four goals while limiting Heathcote only for three notches. Biddle scored all the three goals for Heathcote while Laprida and Martin Pepa added three and one goal each for
Circa. Both went into the overtime to make the match decisive. Biddle while pushing aside the opposite players slammed a long penalty shot to get the extra-time victory for Heathcote. They will face White Birch in the title-clash of the tournament.
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