Reports
127th RUS Hurlingham Open Final
Eleventh Hurlingham Win for Ellerstina The undefeatable Pieres/Ulloa combination continues
F
ollowing on from their Tortugas Open win less than two weeks earlier, Ellerstina found themselves in their second Argentine Triple Crown Final of the season, putting them under pressure to maintain their undefeated record and with it their chance of capturing the 2020 Triple Crown, an accolade the team has not held since 2010. Both Ellerstina and RS Murus Sanctus had met previously in the Semi Finals of The Tortugas Open, which saw Ellerstina secure a narrow 15-13 win with a nail-biting display of high goal polo; therefore everyone was expecting another close match. Despite their line-up featuring Alfredo Cappella Barabucci and Francisco Elizalde who had not played in a Triple Crown Final before, RS Murus Sanctus did not let the pressure affect their performance and got off to a promising start, scoring within the opening seconds. However, Ellerstina fought back and built upon solid teamwork to hold back RS Murus
Sanctus, who struggled to elude Ellerstina and by half-time the scores rested 10-6 in favour of Ellerstina. In the fifth and sixth, Ellerstina outscored RS Murus Sanctus five goals to one, Facundo Pieres scored 10 goals overall in the Final, but in the seventh chukka RS Murus Sanctus fought back with three unanswered goals to bring them within striking distance of Ellerstina. However, RS Murus Sanctus’ hopes were short lived as Ellerstina seized control of the last chukka, with impressive goals by both Ulloa and Facundo Pieres securing Ellerstina a 16-11 win and with it the 127th Hurlingham Open title. For Ellerstina this was the team’s eleventh Hurlingham Open win, with previous success in 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2018; while for Hilario Ulloa it was his first Hurlingham title.
RS Murus Sanctus struggled to elude Ellerstina
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Polo Times, December 2020 / January 2021
www.polotimes.co.uk
