Dangote, Ibadan Jericho crash at NPA Lagos Int’l Polo

The 2016 NPA Lagos International Polo Tournament continued yesterday at the Lagos Polo Club, Ikoyi, with Ibadan teams succumbing to defeats in the Dansa Cup.
Ibadan Megamound, playing handicap goal of 1.5, lost to Lagos STL 7 5-6 in a match that was rescheduled from Wednesday for technical reasons.
The unimpressive outing of the Ibadan teams was completed as Ibadan Jericho fell 9-2 to Lagos Sao Polo.
The match started on a light note and it was not until Sao Polo’s Abdulrahman Mohammed fall off his pony that the teams began to show their determination to triumph. It was Jericho took the lead with Salisu Umoru tapping in from about five yards but Mohammed scored a 30 yard penalty after an infringement on Mumuni Musa.
Musa and Mohammed added goals in the early part of the second chukka as Sao Polo established a three goal lead but Umoru reduced the deficit to two goals with a 30-yard shot for 4-2 advantage to the Lagos team.
The third and fourth chukkas were dominated by Sao Polo with Mohammed scoring either sides of Musa’s goal for a 7-2 lead. He then added another two goals to seal a comprehensive win for Lagos which had two of its sides lost on the opening day.
In the Open Cup, Lagos Dangote Polo lost to Lagos Shoreline despite an impressive display that saw them recovered from a four-goal deficit going into the last chukka.
Dangote, who paraded Mohammed Dangote, Bashir Dantata, Adamu Yaro and Babangida Hassan started the Open Cup match on 1.5 goal up due to their handicap disadvantage and they began the five-chukka match on a bright note as they forced Shoreline to concede a double 40-yard free-kick but Dantata  failed to convert on both occasions.
They were made to pay for their miss by Juan Cruz in the move that followed but Yaro scored one of the goals of the day with a brilliant 40-yard shot after robbing Kola Karim off the ball to keep their original lead.
Both sides inter-changed leadership in subsequent chukkas, while two more goals by Abba saw Dangote took an 8.5-8 goal lead before danger-man Estrada scored two goals at the dying minutes to seal a hard-fought win for Shoreline.
The final match of the day, which was also in the Open Cup saw Lagos Ashbert took on Lagos HST.