The Malta Polo Club is the oldest club in Europe and the second oldest club in the world and on the 16 April 2005 the club held a match, the winners of which would receive a superb 77 year old trophy.
The King of Spain Cup has always been an annual feature in the calendar of the Malta Polo Club. The 2005 version of this tournament had an unusual twist, as according to club records, history was made when the Club hosted the Madrid Polo Club to play here, as it was the first time that a Maltese team played a Spanish team on Maltese soil.
Guests of honour at the match as well as Her Excellency the Spanish Ambassador included the Hon Minister George Pullicino. The Spanish challengers from the Madrid Polo Club were able to try out horses the day before the match, to accustom themselves to the ground conditions and wind which prevails in Marsa. In fact, the Spanish number one, D. Jorge Ibanez had been able to arrive a few days earlier than the rest of the team, and used this to his advantage, training on the Maltese ground which is the unique hard packed earth surface on which polo was originally played when it was created.
As the Malta Polo Club is made up of private members, horses are loaned to overseas players on a reciprocal basis. This helps our solitary island club to make contacts all over Europe, including Ireland, the UK, France and close neighbours Italy. The Maltese players had been chosen after a hotly contested tournament between three Maltese teams, in which two players were injured eliminating them from selection. The horses were donated by players who were unsuccessful on this occasion, the result being that the Spaniards were mounted on superbly trained polo ponies.
Due to excellent promotion in the local media, both in newspapers and on TV, a large number of spectators saw two evenly matched teams take to the field. Local supporters and tourists, including visitors from Spain, welcomed the teams warmly and the match soon got underway in the control of umpires Mark Darmanin and Phillip Wismeyer; and overseen by referee Marquis Buttigieg De Piro, the honorary life President of the Malta Polo Club. The match commentary was in the expert hands of Marchesino Daniel Testaferrata Gera de Petri an enthusiastic former polo player who once again was able to keep spectators well informed and interested in the events on the pitch.
Both teams came out very strongly in the first chukka, but it was the Maltese captain Julian Mamo who opened the score, taking advantage of the Spanish team’s lack of experience on the hard ground. The Spanish team responded magnificently, on a surface which is faster than the grass they are used to and soon scored through their excellent back D. Alfonso Bertrand. Two more goals followed, one by the Maltese no. 1 Matthew Borg, the second by the Spanish captain D. Juan Torroba. The first chukka however ended worryingly for the Maltese, when their no 2 Keith Wismeyer had to retire with a wrist injury
The second chukka was a very tight affair, with no side giving quarter. Karl Galea came on as the replacement, but could not break through the Spanish defence. After a melee on the Maltese 60 yard line, Matthew Borg was able to break away in a move that he is well known for in Malta and went on to score the only goal of the chukka.
In the third chukka, the Spanish team took advantage of being very well mounted and came onto the field determined to turn the game around.
First to score was Jorge Ibanez. Karl Galea scored an excellent goal for Malta under severe pressure from D. Pablo Delclaux who worked tirelessly to prevent the two Maltese forwards from breaking away. However, it was captain Juan Torroba who put the Spanish team in front, scoring two goals in succession. This chukka was very competitive and the Maltese back George Lyttelton linked well with his captain in order to prevent the Spanish team scoring more goals. The competitive spirit was increased further when both teams were awarded penalties and surprisingly missed the goal.
The Spanish team started the fourth chukka as they had finished the third, with a goal by their captain giving them a two goal lead. The Maltese rallied with a strength that is typical of our players, taking the Spaniards by surprise, scoring two quick goals one by Matthew Borg and the other by Julian Mamo.
With neither team giving quarter, the last few minutes were very exciting, and it seemed that the match would end in a draw, however, in the dying seconds of the game Maltese captain Julian Mamo broke out of the pack with the ball. Julian, mounted on his favourite and most experienced horse, was under tremendous pressure, challenged by Spanish back Alfonso Bertrand who pushed him out to the boards and was forced to make a very difficult under the neck shot which sailed the remaining 50 yards through the goal posts.
After the match, the superb trophy was presented to Maltese captain Julian Mamo by Her Excellency Dona Maria-Rosa Boceta Ostos, and players and umpires received gifts to commemorate their participation in an exceptional match.