Dubai: Abu Dhabi Polo Team stormed into the final of the 17th Emirates Open Polo Championship when they defeated Wolves Mahra Polo Team 11-6 goals on Sunday evening.
The defending champions, led by Faris al Yabhouni, will take their impressive form into Friday’s final having won all four of their qualification matches.
Abu Dhabi beat Maserati Polo Team 11-6, UAE Polo Team 6-2 and Desert Palm Polo Team 7-6 in their previous matches.
In another match at the host club, Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club, Desert Palm kept alive their hopes of reaching the final when they narrowly beat the luckless UAE 9-8. UAE suffered their third defeat.
Tuesday’s final qualification matches take on great significance as they will determine the second finalist. Maserati meet Desert Palm and Wolves take on UAE.
In the event of Maserati, Desert Palm or Wolves winning, it will force a play-off game between the two to decide the finalist as both teams will finish on equal points (6 from three wins).
Al Yabhouni, who has been instrumental in helping build the confidence and spirit in his title-winning team, said he loves a challenge and this was quite evident on Sunday evening when Abu Dhabi produced one of their strongest performances of the tournament to outshine their opponents.
All four members of the team put their names on the scoreboard in the very first chukker as they pumped in four goals to a solitary goal scored by Diego Gallego for the Wolves.
Abu Dhabi were never headed at a point in the match thereafter as star Argentinian players Satiago Cernadas (5 goals) and Patricio Cieza (4) went on a scoring spree.
Gallego would score two more and Tomas Iriate three for the Wolves, but it was not good enough to rein in an exuberant team Abu Dhabi.
“The plan was always to take it one step at a time and that’s what we’ve done,” said Al Yabhouni.
“We managed to take control of the game in the very first chukker, with all players helping themselves to a goal, and I believe that’s what made the difference in the match.
“All we did after that was to keep the momentum going and to defend strongly,” he added.
“We were just reinforcing the system that we created at the start of the tournament which was to take it one game at a time. I believe that approach has paid dividends and have been playing better and better with every match.
“I would like to think that we’ve reached our peak in perfect time for the final. The aim has always been to come back to Ghantoot to defend the title we won last year, and I am confident, that we have the spirit to do it on Friday (Dec 22).
While acknowledging that Tuesday’s final qualification match against Maserati Polo Team is a make-or-break match, Desert Palm’s Matias Machado remains hopeful that his team can deliver a compelling performance. “It’s a big game, but we will go into the match in a positive frame of mind,” said Machado, who scored four goals in his team’s nail-biting 9-8 win over UAE on Sunday evening.
RESULTS
Abu Dhabi Polo Team beat Wolves Mahra Polo Team 11 goals to 6
Goal Scorers
Abu Dhabi: Santiago Cernadas 5; Patricio Cieza 4; Santiago Gomez Romero 1; Faris Al Yabhouni 1)
Wolves: Diego Gallego 3; Tomas Iriarte 3)
Desert Palm Polo Team beat UAE Polo Team 9 goals to 8
Goal Scorers
Desert Palm: Matias Machado 4; Juan Jos Stroni 4; Maxi Malacalza 1)
UAE Polo Team: Matias Benoit 4; Ignacio Acuna 3; Pablo Avalos 1
Team standings
Abu Dhabi Polo Team: 8 points
Maserati Polo Team: 4 points
Wolves Mahra Polo Team: 4 points
Desert Palm Polo Team: 4 points
UAE Polo Team: 0 points
