POLO: Halcyon Gallery win historic Bledisloe Warwickshire Cup (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Ali Paterson scores winner in the dying seconds

12:41pm Tuesday 21st August 2012 in Sport

THE Halcyon Gallery team have won the historic Bledisloe Warwickshire Cup at Cirencester Park Polo Club after a thrilling final against the Black Bears.

Record-breaking crowds at the Ivy Lodge ground saw the game clinched in a knife-edge sixth chukka, with Ali Paterson scoring the deciding goal in the dying seconds to make the score 9-8.

The match started in style with the match ball flown in by the Silver Stars parachute display team and there were never more than two goals between the two sides.

At 8-8, it was looking set for an extra chukka when seconds before the bell, Paterson scooped an amazing under-the-neck shot from nowhere to find the posts. After the game Paterson described it as a career highlight, but emphasised that despite being delighted to claim the winning goal it was very definitely a team effort that earned them the trophy.

Earlier in the morning, the Godolphin Polo Team beat Felix 9-8 to win the Bathurst Cup Final.