Scone Polo secures Founders Cup victory
On a perfect day that featured sky divers, a one armed bandit, and great polo, Scone Polo team won its first World Polo League Tournament, The Founders Cup.
This year’s Final was set to be a hot bed of phenomenal polo talent, with players travelling from as far afield as Australia to compete for the coveted $60,000prize money and honor of lifting the Founders Cup Trophy.
Going into the match, both David Paradice’s Scone and Sayyu Dantata’s SD Farms had secured resounding victories against their Semifinal opponents, proving they were more than worthy to have trounced the other eight teams and potentially, each other.
Following the first throw-in from the legendary John Payne, the one-armed bandit, play ensued with a penalty conversion from Scone’s Cavanagh to put Scone 4-0 ahead within just 30 seconds, adding to their 3 goal handicap advantage.
SD Farms’ Juan Martin Zubia found the uprights for their first foray onto the scoreboard, but as the chukker closed, SD Farms were flummoxed, trailing 7-1.
Scone didn’t let up the pace in the next two chukkers, playing fast and furious polo, halting any attempt for SD Farms to fall into a goal scoring rhythm. SD Farms pushed and pushed towards goal, but with the Scone pressure at fever pitch, the grey shirted SD Farms couldn’t convert their efforts.
As the second half got underway, despite having stolen the ball numerous times from the clasps of the Cambiasos, conversion was just not on the cards for SD Farms, as Cavanagh found the uprights once again to make it 10-1.
With the goal came a muchneeded throw-in win, resulting in another SD Farms goal, but as the chukker closed, from 120 yards out, Cambiaso senior found the posts for Scone, upping their already hefty lead to 11-3 and securing himself the Most Valuable Player honours.
SD Farms, never keen to back off for a second, needed early goals in this final period, to overcome the 11-5 deficit, and with three minutes to go, there was still a chance, but this chance quickly faded, despite a fantastic goal from Captain Sayyu Dantata, who secured a final goal for SD Farms. Scone left the field the conquerors with an 11-6 win.
In the days earlier game, the might of the young versus the knowledge of the experienced, Richard Mille team defeated 14-13 Casablanca in a cracking clash, to win the Wellington Open Cup.
‘The Cobra’ was the one that put the proverbial nail in Casablanca’s coffin, with a beautiful neck shot in front of goal to find the posts for Richard Mille in the dying minutes of the explosive the Wellington Open final.