Lechuza versus Bendabout:US Open Polo Championship – Preview
Lechuza will take on Bendabout in the knock-out stage of the 2011 United States Open Polo Championship at the International Polo Club in Florida, Wellington on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
Bendabout
The Bendabout team has a very good track record and is one of the unbeaten teams of the tournament. It won all the group matches and obtained leading position in the group ranks.
In the opening game, it downed Orchard Hill by one goal (12-11), edged past Las Monjitas by one score (9-8) and overpowered Pony Express by two points (11-9). Bendabout have an excellent campaign in the tournament and showed thrilling results. It marked
32 goals, while received only 28 points in the last three appearances. They usually commence the game in a striking way and established their early lead in the game.
It demonstrated superbly in the recently concluded USPA Piaget Gold Cup and reached the final of the event. Though it lost to Audi in the title-claiming fight, it played the game brilliantly and fought till the last second of the match.
Lechuza
The foursome of Lechuza continued to dominate the group stage and won two games out of three games, which they have played. It is sitting just one spot behind the Bendabout's team by a one game difference. In the first group fight, they took Faraway
by four goals (11-7) to establish their lead in the game. Amazingly, they thrashed Piaget with the same four goals difference (11-7), but could not maintain its momentum in the later stage. It lost to Zacara by just one goal (7-6) in the final group clash
of the tournament.
The performers of Lechuza displayed impressive show on the field, but they were not quite lucky. The Lechuza players showed outstanding ball possession, but missed the final game with a narrow margin. It marked 28 goals, while conceded only 21 points
in the three matches.
Players to watch
Julio Arellano (Bendabout)
The Argentinean polo professional has played a pivotal role in the successes of Bendabout in the current tournament. He is the highest goal scorer of the foursome, having past the ball through the posts an impressive thirteen times in three appearances
so far. Arellano will be looking to add more points to the impressive goal tally and lead his team towards the triumph. The lengthy rides and stick work besides ball possession made him prominent over his team-mates in the contests.
Sapo Caset (Lechuza)
The young polo striker lit the lamp fifteen times in the crucial tournament and played a vital role in the previous games. He will be hoping to put in another victorious performance against talented Bendabout in the quarter-final contest. He will be
a dangerous player for Bendabout in the knock-out game. He rendered outstanding performances in the recently concluded USPA Piaget Gold Cup with an average of eight points.
Predictions
The foursome of Bendabout is regarded as one of those teams with the best attacking combinations of the tournament. They are undefeated so far in the event and it is likely, they will continue that winning-streak. They are expected to win the game
by a one goal difference.
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