Four chukkers of intense polo were played, with Rommy Gianni from the Monte Carlo Polo Team opening up the score board in the first chukker. Followed by a goal from Mohammed Al Habtoor to even out the score. The two teams followed each other throughout the game, with very good defense plays and some fast attacks. Rommy Gianni scored all the goals for his team. In the final chukker the two teams were even at 3 goals each. As often happens in this exciting game, just as we thought they would go in to overtime, Alejandro Gowland swiftly took the ball and passed it on to his team mate and patron Rashid K Al Habtoor who hit an “under-theneck” shot and scored with only seconds left on the clock. Rommy Gianni enjoyed his day: “It was a tough match, the fields here are amazing, one of the best I have played on. I think the home team, Habtoor Polo, had an advantage of being acclimatized to the weather, it is a bit warm still for us guys from Europe. I look forward to the re-match, maybe we should play on snow and see who has an advantage then.” Gianni said with a grin on his face, since his team won the 2016 Snow Polo World Cup St Moritz. “I am grateful to our host Rashid and the Al Habtoor Polo Resort and Club for welcoming us here and taking very good care of us, we already look forward to coming back.”
Issue N12 | 83