10/11/2016
Yesterday another final of the Argentine Triple Crown of Polo was played, this time was the Abierto de Hurlingham, La Dolfina vs Ellerstina... again.
La Dolfina got to the final with 39 games won in a row (since Argentine Open 2012), a total record that includes 3 Triple Crowns and the way to the final of this tournament. It seamed that La Dolfina was the unbeatable team of the century but this time Ellerstina said "STOP HERE".
The game was very tight, with few goals.
Nico Pieres scored the first goal for Ellerstina while Adolfo Cambiaso scored the first for his team. The first chukka finished 1-all and no goals were scored in the second. The game remained tied until the fifth as every goal scored was answered straight away.
Ellerstina only scored once in the fifth, while La Dolfina scored twice; Pablo Mac Donough and Cambiaso made it 6-5 by the end of the sixth. This was the first time in the match that La Dolfina finished a chukka in the lead.
Thanks to Adolfo Cambiaso, La Dolfina managed to secure a two goal advantage (8-6) in the seventh. Facundo replied, but Cambiaso went on to convert a 30-year penalty. La Doflina were up by two, but there was one chukka left to play. Cambiaso scored again at the beginning of the eighth to give La Dolfina a three goal advantage, the biggest of the match (9-6). There were just minutes left in the game, and everything seemed to be over for Ellerstina.
But it wasn’t. Gonzalito scored twice to make it 8-9, and with only fifteen-seconds left on the clock, Facundo scored to tie the game and send it into extra chukka. Here Gonzalito came through again, stealing the ball and running to goal. He dodged his way through his opponents and scored an impressive neck shot to make it 10-9. His golden goal gave Ellerstina their first title in four years.
Score Ellerstina: 1-1, 0-0, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-6, 6-8, 9-9, 10-9
MVP: Gonzalo Pieres Jr.
BPP (presented by the Hurlingham Club): Anay Sur La Peluda
BPP (presented by AACCP): Open Z Jones
BPP (AAP): Comedida
Asociación Argentina de Polo Polo Argentino (Asociación Argentina Criadores de Caballos de Polo) Ellerstina Polo Team La Dolfina Polo Team Gonzalo Pieres Jr. Gonzalo Pieres Facundo Pieres Polito pieres Polito Pieres Nico Pieres Adolfo Cambiaso Pablo Mac Donough Juan Martín Nero Juan Martín Nero Pelon Stirling ABIERTO DE POLO DE HURLINGHAM Alejandro Novillo Astrada