Wed 13th Feb 2019Ylvisaker Cup FinalDutta Corp secure third trophy of US season
Crowds gathered at the International Polo Club Palm Beach were treated to an exciting Final between Dutta Corp and Pilot on Sunday 10 February. Dutta Corp were no doubt riding high after securing two 20 goal titles already this season, with The Herbie Pennell Cup and Joe Barry Cup already under their belts. However, Pilot were not a team to be underestimated with 10 goaler Facundo Pieres on their line-up and it was clear Dutta Corp needed to shut down Pilot’s set plays if they were to win the title – Timmy Dutta commented, “We lost a game against Pilot, but that was a learning curve for us and we figured out our mistakes and went to the drawing board to figure out how we could beat them.” Despite the build-up, the first chukka was goalless for both teams and finished 0-0, as Dutta Corp managed to shut down all of Pilot’s attempts on goal. At the start of the second chukka, Kris Kampsen opened the scoring for Dutta Corp, swiftly followed by a converted penalty from Facundo Pieres for Pilot, to which Dutta Corp replied with two penalty conversions of their own plus a powerful goal from Gringo Columbres. The goal scoring continued right up until the half-time whistle, with the scoreboard reading 6-3 in favour of Dutta Corp at half-time. Dutta Corp continued to dominate in the fourth chukka and effectively shut down Pieres’ attempts to get Pilot back into the game. Pieres did manage to narrow the gap slightly to 8-5 with a penalty conversion going into the final chukka. Both teams launched themselves into the final chukka with all to play for – Pilot keen to notch up some more goals, whilst Dutta Corp were desperate to increase their lead. In the end, Dutta Corp managed to secure the win with an 11-7 score and with it the 2019 Ylvisaker Cup title. Dutta Corp’s Lucas Diaz Alberdi was named Most Valuable Player, he commented “With Facundo running Pilot’s organisation we could not make any mistakes. The last game we played against them we missed two 40 yard penalties and a couple of goals, but today we were watching them and going to Pieres and Lucas James in every play. I think we had an amazing game.” Gringo Colombres’ Coquito received the honour of Best Playing Pony, he was also awarded the accolade earlier in the season in The Joe Barry Cup Final. Owned and ridden by Colombres in the second, fourth and half of the sixth chukkas, Coquito is a 10-year-old bay gelding from the Tomlinson breeding operation in England, sired by Vasco Mambo. Ylvisaker Cup Final Teams: Dutta Corp (20): Kris Kampsen (6), Timmy Dutta (2), Lucas Diaz Alberdi (5) & Raúl ‘Gringo’ Colombres (7) Pilot (20): Curtis Pilot (0), Facundo Pieres (10), Lucas James (7) & Matias Gonzalez (3) Photograph: Dutta Corp’s Lucas Diaz Alberdi was named Most Valuable Player. By ©David Lominska |