Lahore: Half-goal handicap advantage helped Army beat Diamond/Master Paints by 4½ – 4 in the main final to clinch the Faysal Bank Solitaire Polo Cup the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground.
The final started with a half-goal handicap advantage for Army but they couldn’t maintain their lead as Losada scored a fabulous field goal to provide Diamond/Master Paints 1-½ goal lead in the first chukker. Army bounced back in the second chukker with a 30-yard penalty hit by Manuel Taqulinu to have 1½-1 lead. Losada then struck a marvelous field goal to finish the second chukker with his team having 2-1½ lead.
Army dominated the third chukker fully and slammed a hat-trick with Taqulinu, Ahmed Zubair and Omer Minhas scoring one goal each to give their team 4½-2 lead. In the fourth and last chukker, Diamond/Master Paints players started playing aggressive polo and kept on attacking Army’s goal. Displaying high-quality polo, Losada managed to slam two crucial goals, but despite his artistic efforts, he couldn’t score a match-winner, as Army emerged as title winners.
In the subsidiary final, Master Paints edged out Diamond Paints by 4½-3. Andres Crispo was top scorer from the winning side as he hammered a hat-trick while Ahmed Ali Tiwana scored one. From the losing side, Raja Taimur Nadeem scored a brace and Saqib Khan Khakwani struck one.
