RC Polo of Barcelona wins the Spanish field hockey league

Barcelona (CNA).– RC Polo has become Spanish field hockey champion after defeating Club de Campo in a three match final play-off. The Catalan team won the title at home this Sunday, by beating the Madrid-based club 4-1. The home team lifted the trophy before its own supporters that had cheered on its team during the two games played in Barcelona. The first final play-off match in Madrid was won by RC Polo but Club de Campo equalled the play-off in Barcelona on Saturday.

The final match of the Spanish field hockey league was tense from the start. RC Polo scored the first goal after 20 minutes in a final marked by many fouls. From then on,  the home team dominated clearly the first half of the game which ended 3-0. The first goal arrived after a penalty corner shot, the second one after a penalty stroke made by the top scorer of the season, Roger Padrós, and the last one arrived three minutes before the break. In the second period Club de Campo scored first and tried to get back in the game, but RC Polo decided the match when the team scored the fourth goal.

RC Polo’s victory on Sunday gave them the championship after two wins of the three final play-off matches. The first one played in Madrid was won 3-5 by the Barcelona team last week. After going two goals down, they forced overtime before finally defeating Club de Campo in their own stadium. With this result RC Polo was favourite to win the title in the second match played in Barcelona on Saturday 11^th but the tiredness and the absence of two main Barcelona players due to an expulsion in Madrid helped Club de Campo equal the play-off. Last Saturday in Game 2, RC Polo scored in the very first minute but couldn’t dominate the game and Club de Campo came out clear 3-6 winners, forcing a third duel.

A joyful day at the Eduardo Dualde field

RC Polo’s field Eduardo Dualde played host to more than 700 people on the two final play-off matches. Local supporters never give up cheering their team, even during the defeat on Saturday. The crowd was a mix of children from RC Polo younger teams kitted out in team strip, visitors from abroad, casual spectators who came to support their team in the final, and some spectators arrived from Madrid. When the referee marked the end of the game, RC Polo fans invaded the field to hug the players and celebrate the championship with them.

RC Polo coach Carlos García Cuenca, wet with champagne and beer said that “it’s time for the players to celebrate, it’s their victory and they deserve it” and then he added that “we’re thinking about the hockey King’s Cup to win two championships in a row”. Top scorer Roger Padrós also talked about the King’s Cup that will be held at the Eduardo Dualde from Friday 24^th to Sunday 26^th and claimed that “it has been the best season for me”.

A hard fought season

The highest level Spanish field hockey league, known as Spanish Honour Division A, consists in two phases. The first one is the regular phase played between Autumn and Spring. The first four teams of the regular season qualify for the play-off. The second phase consists in two rounds of three games each, semi-final and final. The best team of the three games of each semi-final qualifies for the final and the best one of the three games of the final play-off wins the title. If there is a draw in a match after two overtime periods, it goes to a penalty shootout.

This season, the champion of the regular phase was RC Polo and the other teams qualified were Club de Campo, Atlètic Terrassa and Real Club Egara. RC Polo beat Atlètic, the league champion over the last four years, in the semi-finals and Club de Campo did so against Egara, both in two games. If Club de Campo had won this final play-off, it would have been their first league title since 1958 and their second championship ever. But for RC Polo, the victory on Sunday has meant their first title since 2008 and their eleventh in the history of the Spanish Honour Division A.