AM – UAE Polo and Ghantoot Polo Teams Conquered the Third Day of the Dubai Open 2020 Qualifiers
DUBAI, UAE
Sallam Sallam
The third day of the Standard Chartered Gold Cup started with a ceremonial ball toss to celebrates the 150th anniversary of Polo in the modern era and the formation of rules that have evolved to form the game of today.
AM – UAE scored the first goal of the match, and the game took on an exciting start as Abu Dhabi polo team matched this with three consecutive goals taking the lead in their favour. The second chukker opened with a goal from Faris Al Yabhouni, patron of Abu Dhabi Polo team and Jacinto Crotto and Santiago Cernadas levelled the game by the sound of the buzzer. Abu Dhabi had regained their lead by mid of the 3rd chukker but AM – UAE was relentless, and both teams were tied by halftime. The penultimate chukker continued with the same intensity and ended with one-goal advantage for Abu Dhabi. The last chukker started with a penalty shot from Santiago Cernadas, and both teams played hard for the win. It was the last goal from Ignacio Acuña that bagged the win for AM – UAE Polo with a final score of 9 goals to 8.
Match Progression: 2-3 | 4-4 | 6-6 | 8-7 | 9-8 Top scorer: Santiago Cernadas, AM – UAE Polo, 4 goals
The next match was between Ghantoot Polo and Dubai Wolves with the goal from Juan Gris Zavaleta. The first chukker ended with one-goal lead for Ghantoot Polo, and the team had control of the game until the last chukker. Juan Gris and the team’s Patron – Habtoor Al Habtoor – were able to score in goals at the last chukker. However, the advantage that Ghantoot built over the previous four chukkers won them the match at 9 goals to 5.
Match Progression: 2-1 | 4-1 | 6-3 | 8-3 | 9-5 Top scorer: Marcos Araya, Ghantoot Polo, 5 goals
The Standard Chartered Gold Cup will continue on the 22nd of February, Saturday with a match between Bangash Polo and Habtoor Polo teams at 14:30 and UAE Polo will face Zedan Polo team at 16:15. Catch the action live on Field 3 at Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club or watch it online on Pololine TV’s livestream.
