Off the Sidewalk

Head Hunters are pavement no more.  We finally hit our stride and pulled off a huge upset, beating Thai Polo 7-5 in our opening match of the RMPA International League Final presented by Visa.  Kuo Lee didn’t play, having hurt his riding muscle again playing in the Singapore Open last weekend.  I got to play the entire match, with Saladin and Martin Garrahan.  Shaik Reismann stepped back to reserve, being a little light on horses, so Garvy Beh got to play the full four as well.

It was a huge win because it was Head Hunters first full win this season, and it came against Thai Polo, who is this year’s league leaders, and defending champions of the league.

I have been saying that we have a really competitive league, that any of the seven teams are capable of winning against each other.   Head Hunters proved it yesterday.

Perhaps we were a little lucky that Thai Polo’s Carlos Pando was playing his first competitive match since returning from the groin injury that kept him out of the Royal Pahang Classic’s subsidiary final two weeks ago.

Saladin Mazlan had a great match for us.  He was fantastic, and I was so proud of how my two ponies, Pedro and Colorada played for him.  We have upped the feed of all the horses in our team, using Zack’s Tack Custom Polo Mix, and some Mitavite Sustaina for some horses.  They are also on Aminos and increased electrolytes.  While we did not have a pre-season because of the late arrival of horses from Singapore, the overall fitness of the horses has improved since our first tournament and they are finally at a level that we can pull off victories.

Playing with Martin Garrahan is a huge pleasure.  He is so experienced, and he really organises us well.  Unlike a few of the other pros, he is very happy to use all of us in the game, making it a 4-man game, and not just a game between pros.  He plays classic polo, and we are always turning and running.  Martin can really hit long balls, so we always have to be on our toes.

Dato’ Harald Link is playing the Gold Cup in England, so could not play in this final tournament of the RMPA International League, but he is in close contact with his team, and in Abdul Rashid Hasnan, has an able replacement.

At 14 years and 71 days, Rashid is the youngest player to play in the RMPA International League.  He beats HH Tengku Mohamed Ritaudin’s record, who was also 14 years and 8 months when he played and scored on his debut on 11th April last year.

Rashid had a great game yesterday.  His job was to man-mark me and boy, did he do a great job.  I only scored once but never really broke away from him.  Rashid is a really big talent, someone who will surely rise to the top of Malaysian polo if he fulfils his potential in the next few years.  Zack’s Tack is very proud to have him as a brand ambassador.

Earlier in the day, KotaSAS beat La Sarita 7-4.  In the final Zone 1 qualifying games on Saturday, KotaSAS meets Thai Polo in the first game, while Head Hunters will face La Sarita for a place in the semi-finals.

If KotaSAS beats Thai Polo, they will have 4 points and will definitely go through to the semi-finals.  If, however, Thai Polo wins, it becomes complicated, as both Thai Polo and KotaSAS will have 2 points each.

Annex D 3 of the Hurlingham rules states, “note if teams have played each other then the winner of that match will go above in a two way tie.”

The winner of their match should go through.

But if La Sarita beats Head Hunters in the next match, all four teams would have 2 points, and it is no longer a case of a two way tie.  In this case, the who-beat-who rule cannot apply any more, and it would come down to goal difference, and if still tied, then goals scored.

In any case, having won our first game, Head Hunters has our fate in our own hands.  All we have to do tomorrow to confirm our place in the sem-finals, is win.

Easier said than done in a league that is this competitive.