LAHORE: Four goals by Tomas Llorente helped Army/Bank Alfalah edge out Guard Group 8-7½ in the Borjan Punjab Polo Cup at the Lahore Polo Club here on Wednesday.

Guard Group, having a half-goal handicap advantage, opened scoring in a thrilling match with the help of top international player Julio Novillo Astrada. Astrada is a new foreign entry in the country’s high-goal polo season, and he is being considered a high-quality competitor by local as well foreign players.

Llorente scored the first goal for Army/Bank Alfalah and then his team-mate Maj. Omer Minhas produced second giving their team a 2-1½ lead in the first chukker.

In the second chukker, Astrada recorded a brace — first through a 40-yard strike and second through a field goal — putting his team ahead 3½-2.

But Maj. Haseeb Minhas then hammered an impressive second field goal to reduce the deficit to 3½-3, making it an exciting fight for the supremacy.

The third chukker saw a tough tussle as a total of seven goals were scored by the two sides.

Army/Bank Alfalah first scored three back-to-back goals, one each by Llorente, Maj Omer and then by Maj. Haseeb. But the losers fought back impressively with two goals each coming from Taimur Ali Malik and Astrada, who struck two goals each to help Guard Group lead 7½-6.

In the fourth chukker, Llorente contributed two back-to-back field goals to steer Army/Bank Alfalah to a 8-7½ win.

Published in Dawn February 26th , 2015

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