Junior v Polo: Unbeaten Against Leaders With Top Spot on the Line in Spain

Thursday night in Spain is the biggest game of the season so far, and it’s not even a weekend fixture. Junior FC host RC Polo in a postponed Jornada 4 match, and the winner takes top spot in the Liga IATI.

Polo got there the dramatic way. On Sunday they beat CD Terrassa 2-1, and they had to come from behind to do it. Jan Lara put Terrassa ahead, Matías Barón equalised two minutes later, and Nico Laplaza won it with under three minutes left. That goal put Polo top of the league.

Junior, though, are the team nobody has beaten. They’re second, one point behind Polo, and they’re the league’s only unbeaten side. Their last outing was a statement: 10-0 against Sardinero, four up at half-time and five more in the third quarter. Ferran Muñoz scored a hat-trick of penalty corners, Aleix Bozal and Albert Serrahima got two each, and Nicolau Mustarós, Oriol Salvador and Anton Serrahima joined in. Ten goals, six different scorers, and a message sent.

Thursday’s game is at 8:45pm CET, which is 12:45am PKT on Friday. Polo’s title credentials against Junior’s unbeaten record. Something has to give. RFEH’s Jornada 8 round-up has the full scorers.

Jornada 8 in full

Club Egara beat FC Barcelona 6-0, and they’re now level on 13 points with RS Tenis and Atlètic Terrassa, who drew 1-1 with each other. Sanse Complutense won 5-2 at CH Carpesa for their third straight win, and Club de Campo won 4-1 at UD Taburiente to stay third, level on 16 points with CD Terrassa.

So the table reads: Polo top, Junior one point behind and unbeaten, Campo and Terrassa on 16, then a three-way tie on 13. It’s tight at the top and it’s tight in the middle. Thursday sorts out the first part of that.

For our money, Junior are the value pick. Unbeaten teams with a 10-0 in their last game don’t usually lose at home. But Polo have just shown they can win ugly and late, and that’s what champions do. Either way, Thursday night decides who goes into the weekend on top.