Piaget White edge past Grand Champions, 8-7 in ‘The Memorial by Piaget’ Tournament: Polo Recap
Nic Roldan scored the game-winner in the dying moments and had an assist to lead Piaget White to an 8-7 victory over Grand Champions in the round one game of the ‘The Memorial by Piaget’ Cup. The hardly fought game was played at the Grand Champions Polo
Club in Wellington, on May 26, 2011.
Hector Galindo opened the game by marking a goal from the field effort. Walter Scherb passed the ball to Galindo, who tapped it into the Piaget White's goal-post, opening the score at 1-0. However, the strikers from Piaget White were not sitting silently
and watching the game go by. Nic Roldan and Juan Badiola scored two and one goal respectively, to establish their dominance in the field. The opening period ended with Grand Champions trailing by two goals, 3-1.
In the second chukka, the Grand Champions attack came alive and tied the knots at 3-3 while holding Piaget White goal-less. Scherb and Galindo scored one goal each and had it all even at the end of the second round.
The scores remained equal after the third chukka, as both the teams exchanged one goal in the seven and half minutes of play. Roldan scored off a spot shot at the Grand Champions goal-post, but it was countered in the hands of Scherb in the very next minute.
Piaget though received plenty of sure goal-scoring chances, but to no avail. The first half action was concluded with both team locking horns at 4-4.
In the fourth chukka, Melissa Ganzi and Badiola added one goal apiece to put Piaget White ahead onto the score-board. But Chris Nevins made a cut into the lead through a field effort. Grand Champions was trailing by a single goal, 6-5, with two chukkas left
to play.
The strikers from Grand Champions cranked up their offence in the second last period and notched two goals while limiting Piaget White only for a solitary goal. Scherb chipped in two goals, while Melissa Ganzi added a solitary goal from the field. The score
again tied at 7-7 with seven minutes left onto the clock.
In the fast and furious game, both the teams put all their efforts to get a go-ahead goal. The Piaget White attackers were regularly storming the defence line of Grand Champions and finally succeeded in the dying moments of the match. Roldan managed to take
the ball away and struck a long shot to seal the Piaget White victory at 8-7.
Roldan was one of the top scorers with four notches, while his team-mate Ganzi and Badiola scored a couple of goals each in the triumph. From the other side, Scherb added four goals while Galindo and Nevins contributed for two and one goal, respectively.
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