Sport | Other Sports
Ghantoot defeat Al Manassa to clinch Emirates Open Trophy
Ghantoot came good when it mattered most to win the Emirates Open Polo Championship with a 9-5 win over Al Manassa at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club field here on Sunday.
- By M Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:35 December 22, 2008
- The Ghantoot polo team, including captain Nasser Al Shamsi, with their trophy after the presentation in Abu Dhabi.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Ghantoot came good when it mattered most to win the Emirates Open Polo Championship with a 9-5 win over Al Manassa at the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club field here on Sunday.
Ghantoot had lost their last league match to Al Manassa and it was the latter who started off as favourites to win the title but the hosts came up with an attacking brand of polo which had them in the comfort zone by the half–way stage.
Lucas Labat, the six–goal player in his first appearance here in Ghantoot, was the star of the final as he scored five goals and was the man who led that early charge.
Labat scored the only goal in a tightly–contested first chukka and was again on target in the second chukka when he completed his hat–trick. Ghantoot forged into a 3–0 lead at the end of the second chukka.
The third chukka looked more like a final as Al Manassa began to string together a few attacks. But again Ghantoot skipper Nasser Al Shamsi scored and a little later his other Emirati teammate Abdullah Bin Desmal also scored to make it an impressive 5–90 for Ghantoot.
Al Manassa's star David Bernal converted a 60–yard penalty and Nasser Al Dhaheri scored immediately after that to reduce the gap to 2–5 before Labat got his fourth goal and Ghantoot were up 6–2.
The fourth chukka again belonged to Ghantoot Juan Ramon scored and Labat's 60–yard penalty ensured Ghantoot went into the fifth and final chukka with an 8–2 lead.
Ghantoot eased off and soon found themselves conceding three goals. Bernal scored off a 30–yard penalty and Matias Colombres and Ali Al Merri scored a goal apiece and made it 5–8. But Abdullah Bin Desmal finished off Ghantoot's win with his second goal.
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