Following a 13-12 win over La Fija to secure the Camara de Diputados, La Irenita II captured another narrow 11-10 victory against Alegria Standard Wealth in the Repechaje Clasificacion at Pilar, to qualify for the 2022 Triple Crown.
Commencing on Field 2, the evenly matched 28-handicap teams battled throughout the first half of the match, as Alegria Standard Wealth took a slim 8-6 lead into halftime. A resilient La Irenita II overcame the two-goal deficit in the fifth to take a tie into the final chukka of play, when Facundo Fernández Llorente broke the stalemate to push a steadfast La Irenita II over the finish line. Contributing to La Irenita II’s 11-10 victory and efficient team play, Facundo Fernández Llorente added two assists along with the game winning goal, as cousin Tomás Fernández Llorente led La Irenita II with 6 goals, including 4 successful penalty conversions. With the Repechaje Clasificacion victory, La Irenita II will join competitors from La Natividad, La Dolfina Saudi PT, Ellerstina Johor, RS Murus Sanctus, LD Brava PT, La Ensenada Brubank and La Irenita PT in the 2022 Triple Crown.
Kicking off play, Agustin García Grossi knocked in his first goal of the day from the field to account for all scoring in the opening chukka. Each team would add three goals in the second, with all three of La Irenita II’s coming from the mallet of Tomás Fernández Llorente, while Pedro Zacharías, Agustín Merlos and Canadian Frederick Mannix contributed one goal each for Alegria Standard Wealth. Tomás García del Río and Zacharías struck again for Alegria Standard Wealth in the third and after a quick response from La Irenita II’s Martín Podestá, the two teams were tied for the first time in the match 5-5. After Tomás Fernández Llorente hit a penalty shot for La Irenita II, the fourth chukka was dominated by Merlos. Scoring three consecutive goals, including two from the penalty line, Alegria Standard Wealth took a 8-6 lead into halftime.
Emerging from the break, La Irenita II began their comeback with a goal from Grossi, followed by a penalty conversion from Tomás Fernández Llorente and another from Podestá. Managing to hold Alegria Standard Wealth to only one goal in the fifth, La Irenita II ended the chukka tied once again. Trading goals in the sixth, Merlos found the goal from the field for Alegria Standard Wealth, as La Irenita II’s Tomás Fernández Llorente once again found success from the penalty line. Entering the final chukka of play, Tomás Fernández Llorente’s only shot on goal missed the target, however, Facundo Fernández Llorente stepped in and after missing his first shot, sank his second attempt to seal La Irenita II’s Repechaje Clasificacion 11-10 comeback victory.
Photo Credit: ©Matias Callejo