The Quarter Finals Set After Zacara Win Penalty Shootout
The final Cartier Queen’s Cup league matches took place Sunday 29 May, with two teams scoring their first wins of the tournament. La Bamba de Areco defeated Talandracas 14-9 at Manor Farm in Sussex, while Hilali Noordeen’s Sifani defeated Valiente/Dubai 13-11 at Guards Polo Club, winning the Richard Watt Cup. There were changes in both sides’ line-ups with La Bamba patron, Jean Francois Decaux, replaced by the young Englishman Alex Webb. Tommy Beresford was unable to play for Talandracas due to injury and his place was taken by Juan Cruz Merlos, who is currently playing the 15 goal tournaments with the Black Bears.
These results meant that both Talandracas and Valiente/Dubai avoided having to take part in today’s penalty shootout. A second win for Talandracas would have put them up against Michael Bickford’s La Indiana who now automatically qualify as second best team in Group One, behind King Power Foxes, after their comfortable 10-7 win over HB Polo on Saturday 28 May. King Power Foxes remain on top with a perfect 3-0 record having defeated Apes Hill 11-9 on Saturday 28 May in a victory that was hard earned against George Hanbury’s determined side. A Valiente/Dubai win on Sunday would have pitted them against Britannia El Remanso and Zacara in the evening’s penalty shootout for the second placed team in Group Two, behind Dubai. The Talandracas win left Charlie Hanbury’s Britannia El Remanso taking on Lyndon Lea’s Zacara at Guards Polo Club. Zacara came out best, winning 3-2, thanks to some sharp shooting from Pablo MacDonough.
So the four teams that automatically qualify through to next weekend’s quarter finals are:
1. Dubai
2. King Power Foxes
3. La Indiana
4. Zacara
The following teams finished in this order to play in the knockout stages which will take place Tuesday 31 May and Wednesday 1 June:
1. Britannia El Remanso
2. Apes Hill
3. La Bamba De Areco
4. HB Polo
5. Valiente/Dubai
6. Talandracas
7. Sifani
8. RH Polo
For a full list of teams playing in The Cartier Queen’s Cup and to keep abreast of the results so far, click here.
Photograph: Julian de Lusarreta with the nearside under the neck shot against David ‘Pelon’ Stilrling. By ©www.imagesofpolo.com
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