On the same day that Ayala confirmed their place in the quarter-finals of the Cartier Queen’s Cup, Zacara dropped out of the competition. The 2012 US Open winners have failed to find their form in this year’s Queen’s Cup and their narrow 9-8 defeat to Nick Clarke’s Salkeld (rec 1 goal on handicap) at Coworth Park this afternoon means that Lyndon Lea’s team have not won any of their league matches.
This game was a really close one though, with Salkeld a goal up at the end of the first two chukkas and Zacara then levelling the score, 7-7 at half-time.
The tension became palpable in the second half with both teams only finding the flags once – thanks to goals from Lea and Luke Tomlinson, his sixth goal of the game. Then, much to everyone’s surprise, Zacara failed to score at all in the next two chukkas, allowing Salkeld to pull away. However in a repeat of the Ayala v Talandracas game, Salkeld could not make much advantage of this situation and only James Beim found the flags. But it was enough to prevent a golden goal scenario and secure Salkeld’s second victory in League Three, putting them at the top of this division alongside El Remanso.