THERE WAS A major upset as action in the 2015 Barbados Polo Club Archer’s Hall/Diamonds International-sponsored Barbados Open 8-goal polo tournament heated up before a large crowd at the Apes Hill polo grounds on Sunday.
In the first of the three matches on the afternoon’s card after rain caused a postponement for earlier matches, joint pre-tournament favourites ICBL were surprisingly beaten 7-4 by the Mango Bay team of Rhys Odle, Luis Clerci, Lucas Nicolao and Gasmir Gross.
Mango Bay raced to a 3-1 advantage by the end of the opening chukka and were never threatened for the remainder of the match.
Danny Atwell scored all four goals for the ICBL side, while Gross was the leading scorer for Mango Bay with three goals.
Atwell, Teddy Williams, Jamie Dickson and Josh Archer made up ICBL.
In the second match of the afternoon, CGI Clifton defeated Range Rover 4-3. Christian Chavez scored two goals for Clifton, while Richard Deane did likewise for Range Rover.
The final game ended in a sudden-death victory for Team Rubis, one of the pre-tournament favourites, over Apes Hill.
Le Hardy opened the scoring for Rubis with an exquisite neck shot that brought the spectators to their feet. A minute later, Pablo Crespin equalised with a 30-yard penalty for Apes Hill.
Such was the stubborn defence of both teams, the third chukka ended with the scores locked at 1-1.
In the fourth period Damian Luke scored for Rubis and Crespin for Apes Hill.
The scores were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation and extra time and a fifth chukka was played as the decider.
Le Hardy converted to give Rubis a well-deserved victory.
The next round will be played today at Lion Castle ground. (CH)
