The Silver Cup Finals kicked off with UAE having a 1.5 goal advantage on the scoreboard. UAE fielded a 16-goal team for an 18-goal handicap tournament, so gave them some goal advantage. It takes a very daring team to do that, but not so much for a Tournament than for an Open Championship.
First 4 minutes of the game was rather slow, but with a little over a minute left in the 1st Chukker, Cesar Crespo opens the account for Ghantoot on the scoreboard. The game opens up by the 2nd Chukker, with players all warmed up. The heat is on. IJELE Tommy sucks up a foul from Cacu Raja with ‘The Long Reach of Beresford’ play. And Beresford scored the 40 yard penalty.
Llorente’s back to back goals fired up the Ghantoot team. A relentless traffic goal scored by Crespo, followed the undefended 40 yard penalty put in by Cacu, and Ghantoot was 2.5 goals ahead of UAE.
As UAE struggled to get a grip on Ghantoot’s sophisticated plays, Shaka Panelo’s pony trips on Cacu’s pony’s hind legs, and down goes Shaka. 1 minute into the 3rd Chukker and the game becomes quite fierce. UAE has figured out how to counter Ghantoot, and it’s as fierce as it could get. Ghantoot getting a bit rough on the defence, seemingly in reaction to UAE reading their plays.
Cacu’s save of Sheikha Maitha’s goal attempt boosted Ghantoot’s confidence to commence the second half. Crespo scored within the 1st minute of the 4th Chukker, and the game became heated and faster. Ghantoot’s strategy this time turned from sophistication to quickness. As UAE tried to catch their breath with Beresford’s persistent long shots, Cacu cut in, assisting Llorente’s 3rd goal. Despite the lead, the pressure got the better of Ghantoot as the fouls against UAE continued. Game was getting rougher as we approached the end of the penultimate Chukker.
But as is typical of UAE, the hotter the game, the more warmed up they get, and the more accurate the shots. Shaka in a quick singular effort, won the ball out of the lineup and headed straight for the Ghantoot goal. Cacu and Benja responded goal for goal respectively to end the 4th Chukker. Game was definitely getting hotter and rougher.
5th Chukker commenced with a half goal difference, Ghantoot 8 UAE 7.5. First 2 goals emanated from fouls from both teams, and the furnace fired up. With game temperature at a little over 1000 degrees, stronger defence overtook attacks for both teams, resulting in a drought of field goals. Both teams at their A-Games, and 30 seconds to the final hooter, no goal. Ghantoot won the Silver Cup 9 goals to 8.5 against the defending champions, UAE Polo.
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