By Alejandra Ocampo
On Saturday October 22, on the Lewis Lacey ground, the Hurlingham Club’s main field, La Irenita Grand Champions and La Natividad played an extraordinary match, with the former claiming a narrow 12-11 win over the title holders, that led Pablo MacDonough & Co to qualify to the championship match of the 129th. Hurlingham Open, the second leg of the coveted Argentine Triple Crown. The tournament sees eight teams between 29 and 39 goals in participation.
The match, that kicked off with a 1-all in the first chukka, was a very hard fought contest. La Natividad took the lead from the second chukka onwards but the gap was always very tight, with La Irenita trailing closely. The momentum for La Natividad came up in the fourth chukka, with Jeta Castagnola scoring two unanswered goals in the first minute of play. Pablo MacDonough scored for La Irenita, but La Natividad replied quickly through a pass from Barto Castagnola to his brother that ended between the posts within a few seconds remaining. By half time, La Natividad reached a 7-4 lead. They widened their advantage to 8-4 at the start of the fifth, through a spectacular goal by Barto Castagnola, but La Irenita had another ideas in mind.
Fran Elizalde and Juano Britos produced a couple of goals to close the gap to just one goal. La Irenita kept pushing in the sixth chukka, displaying a remarkable team play, as a result to their steady growth and improvement in the Triple Crown up-to-date. With less than two minutes to end the sixth, Juano Britos found the flags to tie at 10-all and earned their first lead in the match, after a a fantastic play by Pablo MacDonough, that was picked up by Juan Martín Zubía. La Irenita were clever and confident enough to control La Natividad’s pressure in order to remain calm and in control during the last chukka. Once again, Fran Elizalde and Juano Britos scored for La Irenita and despite Jeta Castagnola was able to convert a 60-yards penalty, the damage was already done. La Irenita earned a 12-11 win and the first spot in the final of the Hurlingham Open. Which, by the way, is also the first ever final in the Triple Crown for the MacDonough’s family organisation, founded by the unforgettable and much beloved Jorge.
129th. HURLINGHAM OPEN – LEAGUE A – SATURDAY OCTOBER 22
LA IRENITA GRAND CHAMPIONS 12-11 LA NATIVIDAD
La Irenita Grand Champions: Juan Britos 9 (5 goals, 3 penalties), Francisco Elizalde 9 (2), Pablo Mac Donough 10 (4, 2 penalties), Juan Martín Zubía 8 (1). Total: 36.
La Natividad: Camilo Castagnola 10 (9 goals, 4 penalties, Pablo Pieres 10 (1), Bartolomé Castagnola Jr. 10 (1), Ignatius du Plessis 9. Total: 39.
Score La Irenita Grand Champions: 1-1, 3-4, 4-5, 5-8, 7-9, 11-10, 12-11.
Umpires: Gastón Lucero & Guillermo Villanueva. Third man: Matías Baibiene.
IMAGES
129th. Hurlingham Open – La Irenita Grand Champions vs. La Natividad
The 129th. Hurlingham Open will resume on Sunday October 23, with the much awaited clash that will decide League B, La Dolfina Saudi vs. Ellerstina. While La Dolfina Saudi only needs a win to reach the final, the lineup composed by the Pieres brothers and Hilario Ulloa still have a number of possibilities to do so.
It is worth noting that Ellerstina, who had decided not to have a coach this season, has just hired no less than the legendary Memo Gracida to do the job, the man who already coached them in 2005 and 2006.
4pm – LA DOLFINA SAUDI vs. ELLERSTINA
La Dolfina Saudi: Adolfo Cambiaso 10, David Stirling 10, Adolfo Cambiaso Jr. 9, Juan Martín Nero 10. Total: 39.
Ellerstina: Facundo Pieres 10, Hilario Ulloa 9, Gonzalo Pieres Jr. 9, Nicolás Pieres 10. Total: 38.
The final of the 129th Hurlingham Open is set to be played on Saturday, October 29.