The second leg of the Argentine Triple Crown went to La Dolfina on Saturday afternoon, as they beat Ellerstina 18-15 in the final of the Hurlingham Open.
A first chukker that shaped the game
La Dolfina (Adolfo Cambiaso, Pelon Stirling, Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero) faced Ellerstina (Facundo Pieres, Gonzalito Pieres, Mariano Aguerre and Nico Pieres). The opening chukker was packed with fouls, and La Dolfina took full advantage. Cambiaso scored four goals, three of them from penalties, and MacDonough added the fifth, while Facundo Pieres answered with a single penalty for 5-1.
La Dolfina added three more in the second to lead 8-3 at the half, and at the end of the fourth they were 11-6 in front. The lead stretched to six goals at 14-8 in the fifth.
Ellerstina refuse to go quietly
The sixth was Ellerstina’s best chukker. They outscored La Dolfina 4-1 to cut the deficit to three at 15-12, and Facundo Pieres scored again in the seventh to make it 15-13. Two more Ellerstina chances were turned away, and then Nero scored to put La Dolfina four clear at 17-13. Ellerstina scored twice in the eighth, but with La Dolfina adding one, the damage had been done much earlier.
- Adolfo Cambiaso: eleven goals, six from penalty conversions.
- Juan Martin Nero: four goals, and named most valuable player.
- Pablo MacDonough: two goals.
- Pelon Stirling: one goal.
- Best playing pony: Open Chequera, owned and played by Facundo Pieres.
Where that leaves the season
The win was La Dolfina’s sixth consecutive trophy between 2013 and 2014, and it stretched their unbeaten run to 20 matches. They now need only the Argentine Open at Palermo to secure a second Triple Crown in successive years.
It was also a strong day for Cambiaso, whose mallet work is the reason he is rated the top player in the game. Six of his eleven goals came from penalty conversions, which tells you how many fouls the umpires were handing out and how little he wasted.
Both teams now get a short break. La Dolfina face Miramar next, and Ellerstina meet Chapaleufu, as the qualifying rounds for the Argentine Open begin. If the Hurlingham final is anything to go by, the Pieres brothers have the firepower to make La Dolfina work for every goal at Palermo.
Sources: Horse Times
