Dubai
Zedan and Bin Drai Polo became the only two teams to remain unbeaten after two rounds in the fourth day’s action at the McLaren Cup Polo at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club (DPEC) on Monday.
Bin Drai scampered away with an emphatic 7-3 win over UAE Polo, while Zedan held out for an entertaining 10-9 win over Desert Palm1.
Though both Zedan and Bin Drai look to be in comfortable positions for a place in the semi-finals, the Group A leader will be known only after the two clash on Friday in their final group match.
The first two chukkas between Bin Drai and UAE Polo were evenly balanced, with Bin Drai going into the third chukka with a 3-2 advantage. But Bin Drai took full control with four unanswered goals for a 6-2 cushion by the third chukka.
Bin Drai added another goal in the fourth and UAE Polo managed just one in the final chukka to hand Bin Drai a comfortable win.
The second match of the evening witnessed an even fight, with Zedan enjoying the upper hand early in the match as they led 3-1 and then 4-2 in the opening two chukkas. With patron Amr Zedan playing a decisive role in the attack, his team was comfortably ahead 7-4 in the third chukka.
The penultimate chukka proved to be the turning point as Desert Palm1 started finding their rhythm to stage a wonderful fightback and draw level 8-8. They continued putting pressure on Zedan in the fifth chukka and managed to sneak in one goal, only to see ten-goaler Pablo Mac Donough score twice in quick succession to give Zedan the lead once again. They then held on dearly for the final few minutes to earn a narrow win.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, the McLaren Cup will continue with preliminary round matches daily until January 31. The semi-finals will be played on February 3.
