The second leg of the Argentine Triple Crown produced one of the most notable results of the year. La Natividad, the Cañuelas team built around the Castagnola brothers, won the Hurlingham Open, their first title in any of the Triple Crown tournaments.
The semi-final that changed the picture
The key match was the semi-final on Sunday 31 October, in which La Natividad beat La Dolfina 13-10. Barto Castagnola scored the last goal, and La Dolfina conceded a 40-yard penalty that helped decide it. La Dolfina fielded Adolfo Cambiaso, Francisco Elizalde, David Stirling and Diego Cavanagh, a side rated at 38 goals. La Natividad, rated at 36, were Camilo Castagnola, Pablo Pieres, Barto Castagnola and Ignatius du Plessis, all at 9 goals.
It was La Natividad’s first Triple Crown final. Argentine reports noted it was also the first Triple Crown final since 2008 at Hurlingham that did not include either La Dolfina or Ellerstina, the two dominant clubs of recent years.
The final
Their opponents in the final were RS Murus Sanctus, who had knocked out Ellerstina in the other semi-final. Murus Sanctus lined up Facundo Sola, Guillermo Caset, Juan Martín Nero and Pablo Mac Donough. La Natividad took the final and with it a first Triple Crown title.
Why it matters
For years the Argentine season has been a contest between La Dolfina and Ellerstina, and the Tortugas Open final on 16 October was again between those two. Hurlingham showed that the next generation, with Camilo Castagnola still only 18, is ready to compete. A team of young Argentine players, joined by South African Ignatius du Plessis, has broken into the winners’ circle.
It also sets up the Argentine Open at Palermo as a far more open contest than usual. La Natividad will go to Palermo as one of the sport’s most exciting stories, and we will be following it closely.
Sources: La Nación
