"Why was there a foul?" Serena asked, and her friends shrugged, not really understanding what was going on. Thankfully, Artemis went ahead to explain what was happening.
"Since Red player #1 made a turn against the right of way, the umpire has awarded a penalty hit to team blue."
Geoffrey rode his pony over and positioned him about 40 yards out of the northern goal post as directed by the umpire. The other players milled around on their ponies as Geoffrey took an undefended shot on the goal. The ball went through the posts as the flagman at the end of the field, just outside the goal posts, waved a medium sized orange flag high in the air.
"Goal! Blue team!" Diether officially stated.
And so, the play of the first chukker went and ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of blue team. In the interval between 7 minutes of play, horses were changed quickly, and Leonard went ahead to discuss a new strategy for their team.
When the umpire threw in the ball, Charlton was able to take possession of the ball and quickly rode off with Geoffrey hot on his tail. He passed the ball to Kylo who was then about 30 yards from the goal. Wilfred was guarding the goal post but was a little too late. Kylo hit the ball and it went in between the goal posts which tied the score to 1-1.
The crowd went wild. And Serena, given that her brother was in team red cheered along with her friends. Although she knew the final outcome, she could not help but hope.
The play went on, and by the end of the 2nd chukka, the score was still tied at 1-1. On the 3rd Chukka, Geoffrey and Charlton got a goal each, so at the end of the first half, the score was tied to a 2-2.
--
At half-time, spectators were again encouraged to go on the field for divot stomping. Serena and her friends went in to join the fun.
They noticed that a lot of girls were trying to walk at the side of the field near the players' tent. Obviously trying to seek attention from the players.
"Isn't that Isabel and Emily?" Gizel pointed seeing the two of them walking near the tent where Charlton was.
"hmpft! If there's someone more annoying that Emily, I'd say that it should be Isabel. She's such a goody two shoes but I know that deep inside, she's not all that. How pretentious." Milly suddenly said.
"I don't know. She's pretty normal to me." Via commented, "Well, aside from stalking Charlton that is."
Serena just shook her head. She didn't want to bother with that small fly. Charlton was hers, and Isabel can salivate all she wants as long as she doesn't dare touch her man.
--
Charlton sat on a chair while drinking water under the tent for the competing teams. He was mulling over the game, thinking of ways of how to win the game.
"Look guys, lots of girls parading just outside our tent, wonder who they're here for." Joshua said with a sly grin while his eyebrows were moving up and down.
"Who else? Me, of course." Kylo replied.
Joshua laughed, "Yeah right."
Kylo frowned. Then thinking of a comeback, he smirked, "Well, in any case, I don't think that they're there for you."
"Okay, I think we should talk about our plan for the next round. Obviously, Geoffrey is still the strongest player on the field and although his teammates aren't easy picking either, he is still the heart of their team. Anyway, their player number 1 seems to be the weakest link so we should take defense whenever Geoffrey takes possession of the ball. It doesn't seem like he will pass."
"Yeah, I also noticed that. He's hogging the ball today, so when he takes possession, we should just…" Kylo seconded.
Charlton listened and he agreed with their observation. The only problem was that it was not easy to steal the ball from Geoffrey.
Anyway, the air horn blew, and they all mounted their horses. The second half was about to begin.
--
Leonard carried the momentum of the red team by scoring a goal in the fourth Chukka, which gave his team a lead of 3-2. Their first lead of the match. However, in the 5th Chukka, Geoffrey was able to score a goal for his team, and then seeing that Leonard's team was targeting him, he passed the ball to Alex. Alex being unguarded was able to score turning the game around to 3-4.
During the interval for the 6th Chukka, while changing their horses, Leonard told his teammates, "I think Geoffrey caught on our strategy already. This time, let's play one on one and concentrate on each of our counterpart. Charlton, I leave Geoffrey up to you. Alright?"
They all nodded in agreement. Both the teams line up again for the 6th chukka.
"And now, we are down to the 6th chukka and unless it ends with a tie, this chukka will determine the winner of the match. The score now is 3-4 with the blue team leading. Now, who will be the winner of this years, championship?" Diether said through the speakers.
The excitement hit a new level on the side of the spectators. Their necks were craning watching at the sidelines, while they were yelling the name of the team, even the players, they were rooting for.
"And there's the bowl in! blue team player #3 in the possession of the ball. He's now 60 yards away from the goal post and it looks like he's gonna hit the ball straight for a goal. And… look at red team player #2 attempting a hook, and there, he successfully stopped team blue from scoring and even managed to steal the ball. A pass to red player number 1, and look at him riding like the wind. And goal! The score is now tied at 4-4."
--
TBC