ASC Polo Team defeated PBG Risala by 7½-5 in the opening match of historical the Lotus Aibak Polo Cup 2020 played at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
ASC Polo Team defeated PBG Risala by 7½-5 in the opening match of historical the Lotus Aibak Polo Cup 2020 played at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
The major contribution from the winning side, which had one a half goal handicap advantage, came from Raja Samiullah, Raja Mikael Sami and Eulogio Celestino, as they all contributed with a brace each.
PBG Risala also fought well against the winners and matched fire-with-fire till the end, but their efforts were futile in the end. Dfr Saqib Raheem was key contributor from the losing side as he thrashed in two goals while Nicholas A Recaite, Hamza Mawaz Khan and Lt Col Rabnawaz Tiwana scored one goal each.
In the highly-charged first chukker, PBG Risala were off to a flying start as they slammed in two back-to-back goals. Nicholas A Recaite and Hamza Mawaz Khan were the goal scorers, who scored one goal each to provide PBG 2-0 edge.
ASC then bounced back in great style and pumped in two back-to-back goals through Raja Samiullah and Raja Mikael, who struck one goal each, to draw the score at 2-all. In the dying moments of the first chukker, PBG fired in a field goal through Dfr Saqib Raheem to gain a slight 3-2 lead.
ASC started the second chukker well as they converted a field goal through Eulogio Celestino to equalise the score at 3-3. PBG then launched a series of attacks on the ASC’s goal, which helped them score a field goal through Dfr Saqib Raheem to get 4-3 lead, which couldn’t last long as ASC fired in a fantastic field goal through Raja Mikael to square the things at 4-all.
The third chukker proved to be a game-changer as it was fully dominated by ASC team, which banged in a beautiful brace – one each by Raja Samiullah and Eulogio Celestino – to have 6-4 lead. PBG though fired in a field goal in the fourth and last chukker to reduce the deficit to 6-5, yet it was all they could get from the match.
When the final whistle was blown, ASC were enjoying a slight 6-5 edge while with one and a half goal handicap advantage, ASC won the opener by 7½-5. Nicholas Scortichini and Martin Fewster supervised the match as field umpires while George Meyrick was match referee.