Australia waltzes into the finals
Under scorching skies at the Som Dej Phra Suriyothai
grounds the unstoppable German goal- scoring machine finally
ran out of gas at yesterday’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo semi
finals, with Mercedes Benz Thailand crashing out of the
tournament to a jubilant Sandalford Australia team and
Thailand’s Mobile Easy team clinching the Kingdom’s first
place at the finals.
For Sandalford, it was never going to be an easy win but
Aussies Peter Prendiville, Greg Johnson and Nick Bowen went
into the match with iron resolution. It was an epic and tense
encounter, which saw the Perth-based team change their
week-long formation strategy, pushing Prendiville into the
mid-field number 2 position, and Johnson hungry up front.
Mercedes Benz had started with promise, Oliver Winter scoring
an early goal to equalise the Sandalford one goal handicap
advantage. But then the Aussies swung into action, Prendiville
striking one of his superb under the trunk specialities,
Johnson knocking the first goal home after 4 minutes and
scoring a second magnificent under the belly backhand shot
within 10 seconds of the first chukka gong taking the score to
3-1.
The second chukka started cataclysmically for Sandalford,
Winter hitting the accelerator and equalising the score with
two goals in just 34 seconds. Momentarily rattled, the
Australians dug deep and found their composure as the swings
of fortune dramatically changed direction. An errant ball kick
by Hugo Goetz’ elephant towards the Sandalford goal, had Goetz
chasing after it in retrieval, leaving Winter trapped behind
the centre line by the two-elephant per half rule. To cheers
from the crowd, Johnson converted the opportunity to a 4-3
lead and 30 seconds later thumped another goal home.
Not to be outdone, Winter scored the tournament’s most
outstanding goal, a 40-yard under the trunk shot which sliced
sweetly under Bowen’s elephant and straight through the goal.
But with only 60 seconds left, it was too little too late. The
Aussies clung to the ball as the sands of German opportunity
trickled away. A well-earned 5-4 victory for Sandalford and
their first ever place in the finals.
In the second semi-final, St Andrews House Scotland played a
blinder against Thailand’s Mobile Easy but the superior
teamwork and efficient manoeuvering of the Thai team stole the
day. Omsin Pratummalee, Aktanai Chutinthranond and Tom Claytor
seized every opportunity, frustrating Alistair Archibald’s
spectacular play. Despite an early goal by Archibald in just
90 seconds, it was the Thai team that had the lion’s share of
possession throughout the game, with Pratummalee converting
pressure into points, scoring two first half goals and giving
the locals a half time lead of 3-1
Though low on goals, the second chukka, saw Thailand hog the
limelight, their players working in easy synchronicity with
each other. Though Archibald was in commanding form
throughout, the Thai team were effective in squeezing out his
St Andrews team-mates, captain James Manclark and Johnny
Kavanagh, keeping him isolated and unable to find purchase for
his passes. Despite a late goal from Archibald, the task of
pulling back two additional goals was just too mammoth for St
Andrews House. The final score of 4-2 catapulted Mobile Easy
Thailand into today’s 3pm King’s Cup Final against Sandalford
Australia.
In the day’s final encounter for the All Thailand Mahouts
Trophy, presented by Chivas Regal, Hua Hin Village beat Surin
3-1
