Queens Cup continues with wins for El Remanso, EFG Bank Aravali and Dubai
By Alex Webbe
The second round of play got underway at the Guards Polo Club today with the results
of three games helping to decide what teams move forward and which are left behind.
In one of two noon games, El Remanso (Ali Patterson, George Hanbury, Pelon Stirling
and Guillermo Terrera) fought through a very physical game with Enigma (Charlie
Hanbury, Sapo Caset, Guillermo Willington and Jerome Wirth) ) to capture the win in a
9-8 game.
El Remanso took an early 3-1 lead in the opening chukker, but found themselves
holding on to a narrow 4-3 advantage at the end of the second. Single goals from El
Remanso and Enigma in the third kept El Remanso in the lead at the end of the first
half, 5-4.
The pace quickened in the second half with Enigma giving El Remanso everything they
could handle. At the end of the fifth chukker it was all even at 7-7.
El Remanso outscored Enigma 2-1 in the final chukker for the 9-0 win and a 2-0 record
in Queens Cup play. Enigma’s record slips to 0-2, virtually eliminating them from the
competition.
EFG BANK ARAVALI 9, TWELVE OAKS 9
A second noon matchup saw EFG Bank Aravali (Karan Thapar, Mark Tomlinson, Javier
Novillo Astrada and Jaime Huidobro) even their record at 1-1 by defeating Twelve
Oaks (Inaki Laprida, Magoo Laprida, Marcos Di Paola and Stefano Marsaglia) in a 9-8
squeaker.
Les Lions embarrassed EFG Bank Aravali in a 17-9 season opening loss, and the team
was out to prove that they could be competitive against a Twelve Oaks team that had
lost its opening game as well (a 13-8 loss to Zacara).
EFG Bank Aravali was aggressive from the onset, with combinations between Javier
Novillo Astrada and Jaime Huidobro setting the pace in the early goings, and found
themselves on top, 5-3, at the end of the first half. Twelve Oaks fought back, but EFG
Bank Aravali managed to carry an 8-7 lead into the final chukker.
Twelve Oaks tied it up at 8-8 in the sixth, and it appeared the game would be going
into overtime when a Twelve Oaks player fouled, sending EFG Bank Aravali’s Jaime
Huidobro to the penalty line. Huidobro executed a well-placed shot for the winning goal,
9-8, as time ran out.
EFG Bank Aravali left the field with a 1-1 record in Queens Cup play and a chance to
advance dependent on the outcome of next week’s showdown with Zacara (1-0), while
Twelve Oaks (0-2) was forced to rethink their strategy before their next game (against
Les Lions, 1-0, next Sunday, June 2).
DUBAI 13, EMLOR 8
It didn’t take long for the Adolfo Cambiaso-powered Dubai team (Rashid Albwardy,
Alec White, Nico Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso) to get back into the thick of it as they
dismantled a previously unbeaten Emlor team (Spenser McCarthy, Joachim Pittaluga,
Luke Tomlinson and Nacho Gonzalez) in a 13-8 romp.
The two teams sized up one another in a 1-1 opening chukker before Dubai exerted it
control in the match. Dubai outscored Emlor 3-1 in the second period for a 4-2 lead and
extended that to five goals, 8-3, at the end of the first half.
Dubai rode into the final chukker with a 12-6 lead and coasted to the 13-8 victory. Both
Dubai and Emlor hold identical 1-1 records in League I competition, while El Remanso
remains atop the league with a 2-0 start.
In a battle of two unbeatens, Zacara (Matt Perry, Rodrigo Andrade, Lyndon Lea and
Facundo Pieres) will face Les Lions (Tincho Merlos, Sebastian Merlos, Henry Fisher
and Joachim Gottschalk) on Monday afternoon League II competition, in the only game
of the day. Both teams will be looking to improve their record to 2-0, as they make a run
for the 2013 Cartier Queens Cup.