Les Lions to face Zacara in Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup Finals
Zacara and Les Lions qualified for the finals of the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup in the British Open Polo Championship, whch is being held at the Cowdray Polo Club, London.
In the first semi-final contest, Zacara trounced La Bamba de Areco by six goals, 13-7, while Les Lions scored 12 goals against the 10 of Salkeld and booked their respective spots in the title-claiming fight of the renowned tournament.
It started on June 21, while the finals of the tournament will be played on July 17, 2011. The eighteen teams which partook in the tournament were as follows: La Bamba de Areco, 1870, Las Monjitas, Les Lions, Thai Polo
Team, Salkeld, Enigma, Talandracas, Loro Piana, El Remanso, La Golondrina, Piaget, Dubai, Emlor, Zacara, Stella Artois, Richard Mille and Sumaya.
All the teams featuring in the premier tournament have 22 or high goal handicaps. La Bamba de Areco and Dubai were two previous winners of the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Gold Cup.
In the first semi-final, Zacara were more prevailing and strong as compared to the opponent La Bamba de Areco. Though both the teams opened the game in the similar way and exchanged goals against each other. It was not a lucky day for Gonzalito Pieres and
Facundo Pieres, the two legendary brothers and polo players, from Argentina. They were part of the La Bamba, but could not carry their foursome into the finals of the title-claiming encounter.
Interestingly, La Bamba was the team which drew the first blood as well as led the first chukka at 2-1. It was a best start from them, but they could not maintain their score and lost the game with a heavy margin. The second period was also filled with lot
of action and thrill. Zacara obtained a couple of goals in the second round, but La Bamba levelled the score before going into the third chukka of the crucial game.
However, the third set of play was dominated by Zacara which received three goals, while limiting La Bamba only for a single score. Ignatius Du Plessis of Zacara was the striker who scored three goals from the field and penalty shots in the third chukka. At
the halftime, La Bamba was trailing by two goals, 6-4.
In the second half, La Bamba could only score three goals, while Zacara added seven goals in the period. Zacara showed a brilliant defence in the second half to take the game into their favour and won the match at 13-7.
In the other semi-finals, Les Lions powered a 12-10 win over Salkeld and moved into the finals of the Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup.
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