QUITE unlike what was happening just down the road at Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day, Horseware battled through for the Freebooters Cup, beating Tyrone in the final at the AIPC in the Phoenix Park on a score of six goals to five, a scoreline that must have seemed a little bit like déjà vu from the previous day’s qualifying rounds.

Barry Finnegan, James Connolly (captain), William Clarke and Ailbhe Houlihan fought their through in the qualifier against Pegus, the scoreline tied in rising increments until the fourth chukka when one goal made the difference for the win.

While over in Croke Park, the fans watched a match that wound to its inevitable conclusion, it wasn’t as cut and dried for Horseware at the AIPC.

Tied throughout the final until late in the fourth chukka, a Tyrone foul in the last seconds tipped the balance and saved the team from a fifth chukka when the best three out of five goals may well have told a very different tale.

As polo fans watched Horseware battle through against Tyrone’s Eamonn Laverty and his son Dan, David McCulla and Facundo Matilla, the goal-for-goal final was a nail-biter until the final bell.

Barry Finnegan, speaking for Horseware while co-ordinating the team on behalf of Tom McGuinness who was competing overseas, said that the match was a perfect spectator sport when the team came back from three goals down for a very close finish.

“It was give and take from then,” said Barry Finnegan. “James Connolly, who was our captain for Horseware, was giving us our instructions and telling us where to go and hence it was goal-on-goal, give or take. The two teams were evenly matched and to the spectators it seemed very cut and dried. It was good for the spectators, very good to be a part of and a lot of adrenalin, good fun.”

STONES ON A ROLL

Pegus’s David Stone, David J. Stone, Mark Stone and David Hanlon won the subsidiary final in the Freebooters tournament, their score after finishing the round-robin eight goals to five from El Nino and four from LHK. The Fluffy Kittens of Derville Meade, April Kent, Siobhan Herbst and Jennifer Healy made their first appearance as a team this season, beating Rocklow 2 in the qualifier on four goals to 2½.

Julie Kavanagh scored three of four goals when she lined out with Ian McCulla, John Flavin and Keelan McCarthy for Sixt for the low goal Ladies Cup final.

Rocklow 2 won the Ladies Cup subsidiary final with three goals to two from Bishopland and one from Rocklow 1.