A THRILLING POLO ENCOUNTER that went into sudden-death overtime last weekend, resulted in Simpson Motors edging Raffles Canouan 9-8 to take the Colombian Emeralds International Barbados Open challenge trophy at Clifton Polo Grounds, St Thomas.

The Simpson Motors team, comprising Bruce Bayley Philip Tempro, Ramiro Dagna and Gonzalo Fucci, received fierce competition from the Canouan line-up that included Kent Cole, Alex Cole, Rafael Silva and Pablo Crespin.

But in the end, led by a beaver-trick of goals from the 22-year-old Argentine Dagna, Simpson Motors proved the more resilient of the two evenly matched teams.

They played precision polo in the early stages, with Silva proving as much of a thorn in the side of the Simpson Motors' outfit, as Dagna proved against Raffles.

Four goals each

The two teams went into half-time levelled at four goals apiece, thanks to Tempro, Fucci and Dagna (two) for Simpson Motors, and Crespin and Silva (two each)
for Canouan.

If the first-half was exciting, the final chukkas were doubly so, with the players showing their skills on and off the ball, as well as their riding prowess. Bayley, as is his wont, worked tirelessly, both offensively and defensively. Though he was not among the main scorers, it was often his telling gallops that orchestrated scoring opportunities for his teammates.

The ebb and flow action continued down to the wire and, at the end of regulation, the teams were locked. It would take Dagna's conversion of a 60-yard penalty to break the deadlock and give Simpson Motors the hard-fought win.

(CH)