Palermo got underway

In their last meeting (Hurlingham Open), Pilará Piaget (Francisco Bensadon, Hilario Ulloa, Sebastian Merlos and Paco de Narvaez) beat Alegria by four goals, 22-18, but the Argentina Open was another story. After trailing by two goals to start the game, 3-1, Alegria came charging back in the second chukker to tie it up at 4-4.

In the third, Alegria got its offense on track and scored three goals while holding Pilará Piaget to a single score. Alegria led by two goals, 7-5 at the end of the chukker.

Alegria scored twice in the fourth while shutting out the Pilará Piaget offense, and at the end of the first half of play, Alegria boasted a four goal lead, 9-5.

A refocused Pilará Piaget team took the field in the second half disabling Alegria’s offense and scoring two goals. At the end of the fifth period the Alegria lead had been cut to two goals, 9-7.

Pilará tightened its defense in the sixth chukker, shutting out the Alegria attack. Sebastian Merlos suffered a hard fall in which his protective glasses caused cuts to his nose and forehead. After a brief pause, he remounts and the game goes on. Pilará Piaget adds a couple of goals to tie the game at 9-9.

For the fourth chukker in a row, Alegria allowed themselves to be outscored. Pilará Piaget scored three times while holding Alegria to two goals. Pilará Piaget ended the seventh period with its first lead since the opening chukker, 12-11. Both teams battled furiously through the final seven minutes of the game. Alegria scored a goal, but so did Pilará Piaget. The final horn sounded with Pilará Piaget taking the match, 13-12.