Nestle VS Colony Sugar.
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| Santi on Vanessa, Sami and Qubilai in anticipation of the back. Pic. by the great HRK Niazi. |
The atmosphere was so thick with tension that you could've sliced it with a knife. For the last week these two teams have been busy giving everyone else a run for their money. Nestle, a four pointed star and Colony, a two headed sword, met on the last game of the day for a head to head that would decide the top dog in this pack of 8 teams.
We still have a week of polo to go and at midway, end of day today, we have a new leader. The build up to this game was coming on for the last few days. Both teams had played 3 games and won 3. Some by convincing margins and some by just a nose. Nevertheless, a win is a win and it puts 2 points on the table.
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| Pic by HRK Niazi |
Colony Sugar had the advantage here, they were the stronger team, better mounted, had had some huge wins under their belt and with the deadly duo of Santi Mendivil and Raul Laplacette, this team was the clear favorite.
Nestle on the other hand comprised of an all Pakistan squad riding high on the patriotic emotions of most supporters, and were the clear underdogs. With nothing but the prayers and cheers of their well wishers, these boys were playing for sheer glory and the spirit of the game. Their pony line, in comparison, had as much dept as a wading pool but their advantage was always going to be the running combination of all 4 players.
Lets review the game plan for each team.
Colony's plan was simple enough and pretty much as it was in the previous games. Raul to stay deep, hit long balls to Santi, who would streak across the field to score. Anything that came back, Raul was there to pick it up again. Naveed and Hussain will play the blockers and man mark as much as possible. Simple enough.
Nestle had a different strategy. Hamza would go with Raul, block him, hassle him and try and stick with him throughout the game. Saqib would stick with Santi and if he slipped by, Sami would stick to him. So far, so good.
The game itself.
Started off on a blistering pace with Sami getting a break from the first throw in, only to hit it out with the last touch. And that folks is pretty much how this game was played. If ever there were chances missed, mostly by Colony Sugar, this was the game that had the most. Santi did everything right except put the ball through the goal. He ran, hooked, bumped, hit and played nearly every shot in the book except the one tap that puts the balls through the uprights.
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| Santi hooking Qb with Raul and Hamza, elbow to elbow.. Pic by HRK Niazi. |
Despite the missed goals, Colony was up 4 - 1 till the end of the 3rd Chukkar and things were not looking good for Nestle. Hamza's needless bumps on Raul, before the game was in play, and then another technical for elbowing Santi, was not helping the cause. This in effect proved to be a blessing in disguise as the 4th Chukkar belonged to Nestle all the way. 4 goals by them brought them right back in the game. Hamza made amends and hit some fantastic shots to score twice in this Chukkar. Sami and Qubilai hit a goal a piece and Nestle were back in the game. What a come back.
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| Hamza on the run. Pic by HRK Niazi |
The 5th and last Chukkar. 5 goals a piece, ball thrown in and Raul plucked it in the air and ran the legs off Picassa to score a beautiful goal. And that ladies and gentlemen is where Saqib Khakwani decided to stamp his name on the game. A near side shot from 60yards out at flat out pace...goal... a tail shot from near the back line...goal again.. It took everyone by surprise, even Saqib I'm sure and soon after Nestle became unstoppable. Another goal by Hamza followed by a 30 yard converted by Qubilai and Nestle take the game 9 to 6 much to the shock and amazement of Colony Sugar.
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| Saqib, a near side from way out that went for goal. Pic by HRK Niazi. |
Fantastic jubilation in the pony lines where the grooms took Hamza off his horse and hoisted him on his shoulders... what a sight to see. Well done the all Pakistan team.
I feel I've written a lot about this game alone and the other games do seem to pale in comparison. But a quick recap on the tournament as a whole, as follows.
Pakistan Army continues its winning streak today against Mazzini and co. 11 - 4.
Guard Group recorded their first victory over Diamond Paints/Hataff.
Master Paints won from Al. Khan. 9 - 6.
Have a look at the points table.
| AS ON 4th MARCH 2012 | ||||||||
| S NO. | TEAMS | PLAYED | WON | LOST | GOALS | POINTS | AVERAGE | |
| FOR | AGAINST | |||||||
| 1 | NESTLE | 4 | 4 | 34 | 26 | 8 | +8 | |
| 2 | COLONY SUGAR | 4 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 22 | 6 | +14 |
| 3 | PAKISTAN ARMY | 4 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 33 | 6 | +8 |
| 4 | MASTER PAINTS | 4 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 29 | 6 | +6 |
| 5 | GUARD GROUP | 4 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 31 | 2 | -1 |
| 6 | BBJ PIPES | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 34 | 2 | -9 |
| 7 | AL KHAN/CIROS | 4 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 42 | 2 | -15 |
| 8 | HATAFF | 4 | 4 | 24 | 35 | 0 | -11 | |
We also have a new leader on the Top Goal Scorer, Gaston Moore... with 21 goals in 4 games.
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| Gaston Moore... pic by HRK Niazi |
| National Open Championship 2012 | ||||||
| Leading Goal Scorers. (As of Round 4 Dated 04 March 2012) | ||||||
| Name | Handicap | Team | Games | Penalties | Field Goals | Total Goals |
| Gaston Moore | 7 | Master Paints | 4 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| James Harper | 6 | Pakistan Army | 4 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Vieri Antoneri | 6 | Diamond/Hattaf | 4 | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| Raul Laplacette | 6 | Colony Sugar | 4 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Hissam Hyder | 6 | Guard Croup/Newage | 4 | 6 | 10 | 16 |
| Santiago Mendivil | 4 | Colony Sugar | 4 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
| Gerrardo Mazzini | 6 | BBJ Pipes | 4 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Hamza Mawaz | 2 | Nestle | 4 | 11 | 11 | |
| Raja Sami Ullah | 5 | Nestle | 4 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Ignacio Del Tour | 4 | Master Paints | 4 | 10 | 10 | |
| Shah Qubilai Alam | 3 | Nestle | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Ahmed Zubair | 2 | BBJ Pipes | 4 | 10 | 10 | |
| Manual Crespo | 7 | Al Khan/Ciro | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Omar Malhi | 2 | Al Khan/Ciro | 4 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Taimur Malik | 2 | Guard Croup/Newage | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Ahmed Nawaz Tiwana | 2 | Pakistan Army | 4 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Raja Taimur Nadeem | 3 | Pakistan Army | 4 | 7 | 7 | |
| Maj. Gen. Pataudi | 3 | Pakistan Army | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| Naveed Sheikh | 2 | Colony Sugar | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Bilal Haye | 2 | Diamond/Hattaf | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Maj. Omer Minhas | 3 | BBJ Pipes | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Rodrigous Brave | 3 | Al Khan/Ciro | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sufi Amir | 1 | Master Paints | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Adnan Jalil | 1 | Guard Croup/Newage | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Dr. Iftikhar Ali Simba | 2 | Al Khan/Ciro | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Mir Shoaib Ahmed | 1 | Diamond/Hattaf | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Saqib Khakwani | 3 | Nestle | 4 | 3 | 3 | |
| Shaukat Malik | 2 | Al Khan/Ciro | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Shah Shamyl Alam | 4 | Guard Croup/Newage | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Hussain Iftikhar | 1 | Colony Sugar | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Sufi Haris | 1 | Master Paints | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
Another week of polo remains till the final on Sunday 11th March. Nestle is sure to make the final... who'll meet them there. Will it be Colony Textiles, Master Paints or Pakistan Army....? its a 3 horse race.. All bets are off...!!
Cheers,
Agha
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