Both Dubai and Lechuza Caracas notched up victories in the Harcourt Developments Queen's Cup quarter-finals to earn themselves semi-final tickets. Lechuza had a straightforward passage through to the next stage with a 13-9 win over Les Lions. Unfortunately it was not Les Lions l's day and they struggled to find their earlier form.
There was more drama in the Dubai v Broncos game. Broncos stuggled to get into the game in the early stages and were 8-1 down after the third chukka. It did not help them that Adolfo had found his form and was scoring field goals and penalties aplenty. However Pablo MacDonough was not prepared to go down without a fight in the second half and Broncos came back into the game with both MacDonough and Santiago Chavanne scoring. Christian Laprida successfully converted two penalties fthough to retain Dubai's advantage.
Unfortunately for Dubai Cambiaso aggravated his riding muscle injury and, much to his frustration, he was unable to continue in the game. Fortunately Juan Martin Nero was on hand to take his place. This was possible as Juan Martin, the lynchpin of the Loro Piana, is now able to play as Loro Piana team are now out of The Queen's Cup competition.
Broncos used the team change to their advantage and MacDonough, ably supported by Chavanne, closed the gap to 11-8 by the end of the fifth. Even though Nero had no problems settling into the rhythm of this game, it was apparent that Dubai were missing their key player, and suddenly it looked as if the game could go either way, especially when MacDonough kicked off the sixth chukka with a goal. However Nero confirmed Dubai's dominance by scoring a goal to give them a 12-9 victory.
Dubai: Tariq Albwardy (1), Christian Laprida (7); Adolfo Cambiaso/Juan Martin Nero (10); Martin Valent (4). Broncos: Max Routledge (3); Santiago Chavanne (8); Pablo MacDonough (10); George Milford Haven (1).
Lechuza Caracas: Victor Vargas (1); Guillermo Caset (8); Miguel Novillo-Astrada (9); Juan Carlos Harriet (4). Les Lions l: Francisco Elizalde (4); Ignacio Heguy (9); Eduardo Heguy (9); Joachim Gottschalk (0).
