After rain delayed the 128th Abierto Argentino de Polo, play resumed on Wednesday at Palermo with La Natividad defeating Alegria Standard Wealth 20-9.
Finding the form that ultimately won them the Hurlingham Open, La Natividad produced an impressive showing against Alegria Standard Wealth, pulling away in the second half behind the 12-goal performance from Camilo Castagnola. Converting six of his eight penalty attempts, Camilo Castagnola combined with brother Bartolome Castagnola to account for 16 of La Natividad’s 20 goals. Outshooting Alegria Standard Wealth 20-5 in the second half, La Natividad ran away with the double-digit win.
Quickly asserting his offense on the game, Camilo Castagnola converted a Penalty 4 to open the scoring and quickly added a field goal to give La Natividad the 2-0 advantage. Despite two more penalty conversions from Castagnola in the second chukka, Alegria Standard Wealth gained the momentum thanks to the duo of Tomas Garcia del Rio and Agustin Merlos. Three field goals from Garcia del Rio brought Alegria Standard Wealth within one goal, trailing 6-5, but before the end of the half, La Natividad surged ahead. Producing a dominant fourth chukka, La Natividad scored five goals, all coming from the Castagnola brothers to create a six-goal lead and change the dynamic of the match.
Scoring just one minute into the second half, Camilo Castagnola’s eighth goal ended a string of six unanswered goals for La Natividad as Alegria Standard Wealth searched for a response. Converting both opportunities around goal, Merlos provided a brief answer, yet La Natividad began their second stretch of six consecutive goals, dominating possession to put the game out of reach. Castagnola completed his impressive performance with his twelfth goal, while Ignatius Du Plessis contributed two tallies to add his name to the scoresheet. With the victory, La Natividad set up an opportunity to challenge for a place in the final in their remaining group game.