Polo and More, Barbados 2014 Issue 9 | Page 50

& More 2015 Olly Brown charging ahead with David Ashby in pursuit Philip Tempro on commanding form whilst Wayne Archer can only look on in dismay 48 had the opportunity to put Bulova up less than 10 seconds into the game after they were awarded a 60-yard penalty but he missed. That allowed Rubis to snatch the lead through goals from Roddy Williams and Oliver Taylor. After a scoreless first chukker, Jeff Evelyn opened the account for Bulova as Crespin’s woes continued from the penalty spot with another missed attempt. But Rubis was not about to surrender the lead, Williams hit home his second goal and his team’s third to end the chukker 3-1. Each time Bulova scored, Rubis answered back, as Evelyn added his second and Taylor replied. In the final chukker Jamie Dickson gave Bulova a third while Luis Clerici added a fifth for Rubis giving them the victory 5-3. The second day was set to be a triple feature at Lion Castle. Snakebite vs ICBL/Sport Lobster, defending champions Range Rover vs Bulova and Rubis vs Hyundai. However the rain wreaked havoc and the organisers moved swiftly to reshuffle the fixtures in order to get the triple header in on the next match day. The third day, which became the second day of action, saw a red hot Rubis crushing a shell shocked Hyundai at Holders Hill. A see-saw battle in the middle of the field ensued in the opening chukker, but it was Rubis who broke the deadlock as Roddy Williams added two quick goals with about two minutes left.At the start of the third Williams completed his hat trick and Oliver Taylor jumped on a missed clearance to put Rubis up 4-0. Taylor added another before Wayne Archer scored what was to be the only goal from Hyundai in the second chukker. Hyundai missed consecutive penalty strikes in the third chukker and Rubis’ Williams was t here to add to his growing tally. Taylor added the final goal in the game to give Rubis an impressive 7-1 victory. In the second match of this triple treat, Snakebite rebounded from their defeat on the first day to win over ICBL/Sport Lobster 8-4. Christain Chaves and David Ashby each rode hard and played strong to earn a hat trick, while Max Kirchhoff also got in on the action. The ICBL/Sport Lobster team of Gary Shepherd, Teddy Williams, Lanto Sheridan and Olly Brown shared the goals around but the power of Snakebite proved too much for them. Range Rover did not get off to their usual winning start and it was Bulova this time who bounced back from their first game defeat; with Jamie Dickson leading the charge for Bulova with a hat trick well supported by Jeff Evelyn and Pablo Crespin with a goal each, giving Bulova the 5 - 3 win. With action moving to the picturesque Lion Castle Polo Estate, and the weather co-operating, day 3 of the tournament saw firstly a “horse power” competition as Range Rover took on Hyundai, but there was disappointment once again for Hyundai as they were held to a 3 goal loss at the hands of defending champions Range Rover whose captain Danny Atwell, had a stellar afternoon as he scored 4 of their 6 eventual goals, Hyundai couldnt quite muster their power and eventually went down 6-3. ICBL/Sport Lobster’s Lanto Sheridan lead his team to an impressive 8-4 victory over Silver Point/Chester Polo. Sheridan opened with a hat trick in the first chukker as his team controlled the game from early. The battle for control of the ball heated up and both teams averted the other one’s attempts to lead. By the time the third chukker was reached, both teams it seemed had run out of steam and despite their best efforts the chukker was scoreless. In contrast the fourth chukker was one of frenzied action; Nico Roberts of ICBL/Sport Lobster ended with a hat trick, while Sheridan who had had a stellar afternoon thus far, scored yet another goal to bring his tally to 4. Mike Henderson of Silver Point/Chester scored twice in this final chukker but it was too little too late, and ICBL/Sport Lobster ran out the victors. The Semi-Finals saw Rubis pitted against ICBL, for a place in the Final. These two teams were evenly matched and the tit for tat play was a testament to this. Lanto Sheridan and Nico Roberts for ICBL/Sport Lobster and Oliver Taylor for Rubis were on commanding form. The game ended in regulation time on 4 all, taking the match into a sudden death play-off. An emboldened Roddy Williams, a past winner of the Barbados Open however tipped the balance, and eventually scored the goal that would hand Rubis the victory 5-4 and a well deserved first spot in the finals.