Gulf Wings to meet Mahra in Threadneedle cup final

Dubai: Gulf Wings Sumaya rode on Juan Sanchez's golden goal, while Mahra Polo Team thrived on Nacho Gonzalez's four-goal blitz in the final chukka as both teams sealed deserving places in the final of the 1st Threadneedle Dubai Gold Cup at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club, yesterday.

Gulf Wings Sumaya secured a thrilling 7-6 extra time win against Zedan Polo in the first semifinal, while Nacho Gonzalez slammed in four goals in the final quarter to help Al Mahra Polo Team to an exciting 8-6 win against Al Habtoor Polo in the second semifinal later in the evening.

 In a fiercely-contested first semifinal, it was Gulf Wings Sumaya relying heavily on the experience of the Argentinean duo of Mathias Vial and Juan Sanchez, while the youthful Habtoor Al Habtoor proved to be a player far beyond his years troubling the Zedan defence time and again.

Led by their skipper Ahmad Aboughazaleh, Gulf Wings Sumaya were on fire early in the first chukka as Habtoor, Vial and Aboughazaleh struck in quick succession for a healthy 3-0 lead. But the hard-working Rudolfo Ducos pulled one back at the fag end of the chukka to make it 3-1.

Fighting spirit

In the second chukka, Vial scored his second and Sanchez found one from the 80-yard penalty line to further improve the distance between the two sides. But Amr Zedan managed one for 2-5 going into the penultimate chukka and stage some semblance of a fight.

In the third, two quick strikes from Ducos and Alfredo Capella brought the crowd to its feet even as Sanchez converted from a penalty to make it 6-4 with just seven minutes of the final chukka left. Zedan scored his second and Ducos completed his hat-trick with just one minute remaining to bring the two teams on level terms.

Going into the mandatory extra-time Sanchez was awarded a penalty from 60 yards and the nippy Argentinean did what he does best as Gulf Wings Sumaya sealed their rightful spot in the final.

"Every opportunity of this sort needs to be converted, and this is what can change the result of a match," Sanchez told Gulf News.

Preparation

"We need to regroup now and prepare for the final on Friday," he added.

"It's just bad luck in the end. We came close and did everything we could, but win," said Amr Zedan.

In the second semifinal, it was Nacho Gonzalez shinning through with a dominant show of polo as he scored four of his teams eight goals to help the Al Mahra Polo Team cause.

Al Mahra led 2-1 at the end of the first chukka, but the patron's team rallied well in the second and third chukkas to lead 5-3 and 6-4, thanks mainly due to Guillermo Cuitino's five goals.

But there was very little they could do to stop Nacho Gonzalez in the final chukka as he stole the match away.

Results

Sumaya Gulf Wings bt Zedan Polo 7-6; Al Mahra Polo Team bt Al Habtoor Polo 8-6.