Habtoor Polo and Zedan earned wins in the first day of action of the Gold Cup (Dubai Open) played on Tuesday February 15 at Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club The Dubai Open forms part of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series, the most prestigious polo event in Asia and the Middle East, held under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
The tournament see eight teams, up to 18 goals, battling for the coveted trophy. The finals are set to be played on Saturday, March 5.
In the first match, Habtoor faced reigning champions, Ghantoot. It was Ghantoot’s Marcos Araya who opened the scores, but Mohammed Al Habtoor replied quickly, to end the first chukka tied at 1-all. Habtoor seized the reins from the second chukka onwards when they managed to take a commanding 4-1 lead, and despite Ghantoot’s flagship man, Cacu Araya, tried his best to keep his team on the scoreboard, Bautista Bayugar was in charge to maintain Habtoor in the lead. By the time to play the last chukka, Habtoor had taken a 8-4 advantage. However, Ghantoot made a comeback in a very intense last chukka and despite they managed to close the gap to one goal, it was Habtoor who claimed the 8-7 win.
In the follow-up, Bangash Dodson & Horrell Polo took a quick lead in the first chukka, but by the end of the second period, Zedan was leading by one goal. In the third chukka, Bangash made an impressive comeback, thanks to Benjamin Panelo’s accuracy to convert penalties; they outscored Zedan 3-0 to earn a 5-3 lead by half time. Following a 5-all in the fourth chukka, Benjamin’s brother, Tomás, took control of the situation, and scored three consecutive goals that secured Zedan their first win in the tournament.
GOLD CUP (DUBAI OPEN) – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
HABTOOR POLO 8-7 GHANTOOT
HABTOOR: Mohammed Al Habtoor 0, Bautista Bayugar 8, Juan Jauretche 6, Matías González 4.
GHANTOOT: Nasser Al Shamsi 1, Kian Hall 3, Pablo Llorente 7, Marcos Araya 7.
Score Habtoor Polo: 2-1, 4-1, 6-4, 8-4, 8-7.
Top Scorers: Bautista Bayugar & Marcos Araya (5 goals each)
ZEDAN 8-6 BANGASH DODSON & HORRELL
ZEDAN: Amr Zedan 0, Tomás Panelo 7, Manuel Plaza 6, Gonzalo Ferrari 5.
BANGASH DODSON & HORRELL: Haider Bangash 0, Federico Von Potobsky 5, Benjamín Panelo 7, Nicolás Corti Maderna 5.
Score Zedan: 1-2, 3-2, 3-5, 5-5, 8-6.
Top Scorers: Tomás Panelo & Benjamín Panelo (5 goals each)
The Gold Cup (Dubai Open) will resume on Wednesday February 16 with the following order of play:
2pm: UAE Polo vs. Abu Dhabi.
4pm: Dubai Wolves by CAFU vs. AM Polo.
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THE GOLD CUP (DUBAI OPEN) IS STREAMED LIVE ON POLOLINE TV.
Gold Cup (Dubai Open) – Fixture & Teams