Grey Skies. The threat of rain. And moving to a new field.
None of the above could stop Apes Hill 1 from a victory when the First Citizens Bank’s inaugural 6-goal Polo Tournament continued on Wednesday night.
The third round of matches, which were scheduled to be played at the Holders Hill ground in St James, had to be shifted to the Apes Hill polo ground in St James, due to the unsuitable conditions caused by heavy overnight rains.
Apes Hill 1 didn’t seem to mind.
Playing under gray and overcast conditions with the occasional threat of rain, the Sir Charles Williams-led team continued their march to the coveted cup with a workmanlike 81/2-5 victory over the First Citizens team led by Bruce Bayley.
The victory has propelled them to the top of their league with two wins from as many matches.
Jamie Dickson’s stick work was almost impeccable as he added his second five-goal total in back-to-back matches. He found good support from Mark Atwell and Adam Deane who accounted for the other three goals.
There was no repeat of the form that saw Britain’s four-goal handicapped player Oliver Taylor slotting home all six goals for his Citizens team in the opening match of the series at Clifton.
Here he came up against a tight defence from the Apes Hill players on their home turf, and could only manage two goals past their defence.
Bruce Bayley was in relatively good form but was not supported as he would have liked. He accounted for two of his team’s goals with Alex Cole scoring the other.
In the opening match Apes Hill 2 handed Whitehall their second straight defeat with a 6 – 4 victory. It was sweet revenge for Apes Hill 2 who used home advantage to bounce back from their heavy defeat in the opening round of the series when they were trounced 11 -5 ½ by Mercedes at The Clifton. (CH)
