Team USA Leads Mosconi Cup ScoreHotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee 16th December, Day 1 Europe 1 – 2 USA Niels Feijen & Steve Davis 5 – 4 Charlie Williams & Tony Robles Team Europe took the opening point of the 2004 Mosconi Cup as the Steve Davis / Niels Feijen pairing squeezed past Tony Robles and Charlie Williams by a single rack. Europe won the lag, and, surprisingly, it was Steve Davis who opened the proceedings rather than the power-breaking Niels Feijen. The Englishman, though, made a ball to keep his team at the table The rack was a nervy affair, with Davis bailing out Feijen twice as he ran out of position as the adrenalin pumped. However, Europe prevailed as they cleared the remaining balls in a tricky layout.The Europeans had a chance in the next, but Davis fouled, failing to hit a rail when escaping from a snooker, and with ball in hand the Williams / Robles axis ran out to level the match at 1 – 1.Europe took the next with the break and further increased their lead when Williams missed a long 3 ball on an angle to hand the table to the Europeans. Team USA, however, took the next two racks to take the match to 3 – 3 before some vintage Davis potting in the next steadied the European ship. Robles used a nice cut break in the next to open up the pack, but a bad miss gave the Europeans a chance at a tough run out. Davis, though, scratched as he over-juiced his positional shot going from 5 to 6, and the USA equalized it at four racks apiece.The Europeans won the all-important final rack as they coolly ran out from the break to draw first blood for Team Europe. Afterwards, Niels Feijen was delighted with their showing. “I felt very relaxed, much more so than my only other appearance in London. I’ve got a good partner in Steve, and we were really solid. The practice room is a really good place to be, and there’s more to come from us, believe me!” Oliver Ortmann & Thomas Engert 3 – 5 Johnny Archer & Gabe Owen An error-strewn nail-biting encounter saw American skipper Johnny Archer and his debutante partner Gabe Owen defeat the all-German Euros Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert 5-3. The nerves of the Mosconi Cup were apparent, but surprisingly, it was the two experienced captains who ended up producing the mistakes which proved costly. After Engert won the lag, the all-German pairing joined the dots for a run-out to take an early lead. Johnny Archer came up dry in Rack 2, and Engert came close to fluking the 9 ball but ended up leaving it hanging for Gabe Owen, who failed to take advantage. Nevertheless, Ortmann missed a pot on the 1 ball and scratched in the same pocket the 9 was hanging over, leaving Archer with a simple 1-9 combo to level. Team Europe’s captain’s evening went from bad to worse in the next rack when he jawed the 5 ball, and the Americans took the lead. European nerves showed again in Rack 4 when Engert fouled while attempting a tricky 2 ball, and the composed visitors went 3-1 ahead. The Europeans returned to form in the fifth rack and cut the deficit, but a golden break from Archer in the next took USA to the hill. The match swung back to Europe, though, when Archer missed a straightforward 1 ball, and Europe came back close again, running out to leave the scores at 4-3. Owen went close to scratching in the eighth rack but still came up dry. The 1 ball was proving problematic – a wayward jump shot from Ortmann left it on for Archer, who made a second unforced error in missing it, before Ortmann later redeemed himself with a brave table-length shot as the pace of the game slowed with tension rising. Engert then missed the 6, which Owen pocketed, but he left his captain with an awkward shot on the 7, and Archer cannoned the 8 behind the 9 – giving his rookie partner a tough shot. Owen left the 8 on for Ortmann, but his failed bank attempt left it hanging, and the Americans cleaned up to take the point. "If it wasn't for Gabe, we'd have lost, Archer said. ”He made every shot, and I made a couple of mistakes I didn't expect to - I take my hat off to him. All we want is the victory, and it doesn't matter if I miss ten times as long as we win. There's a lot of expectation and pressure, but Gabe knows how to win - you don't win the U.S. Open by being a bad player.” Owen added, "When I won the U.S. Open, the crowd were for me, but we'll thrive on them being against us. This will be close throughout - it will go right down to the wire." Mika Immonen & Marcus Chamat 1 – 5 Earl Strickland & Rodney Morris Team USA closed out Day 1 of the 2004 Mosconi Cup in fine form as the partnership of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris got in the groove early on and overwhelmed Europe’s pairing of Marcus Chamat and Mika Immonen. For Europe, Chamat missed too many balls, leaving his partner in the lurch on several occasions, and for Team USA, it was a case of two top stars playing to their potential. A scratch from Morris in the opening rack handed Europe an early lead, but Strickland produced a golden break to level. The Americans ran Rack 3, but then in the fourth, a jump shot from Immonen forced the 1 ball in, and Chamat then spurned a chance on the 2, leaving Morris an easy chance to snooker him. Immonen’s jump cue was red hot, and he produced a full-length jump shot to down the 2, but his partner was less convincing, and a dire effort on the 3 resulted in a scratch. Morris made it 3-1 with a simple 4-9 combination, and the Americans were in the driving seat. Mika Immonen broke off in the next to save the match but Chamat, faced with a jump shot to cut the 1 ball into the middle pocket, narrowly missed and left it on for Team USA. Between them, Morris and Strickland cleared up to get to the hill. With “The Pearl” breaking, he produced a cracker, dropping the 6 ball and leaving the yellow 1 on for Morris. With the 2 ball tied up, Strickland produced a brutal safety that Immonen escaped from. Morris, though, left Chamat a table-length tempter on the 2, but he missed and left it on for the Americans. From there, they didn’t look back as they ran out for victory. Morris was clearly delighted to start in such fine fettle, especially in a scotch doubles format with a potentially tricky partner. “This is a dream for me, playing in the Mosconi Cup and partnering Earl Strickland, my favorite player of all time - it gives me goosebumps,” he said. “It’s becoming my favorite tournament, because you’ve got all these great players pumping for you, and that’s a great feeling.” For Strickland, the feeling was mutual. “I played Rodney Morris in Hawaii when he was a kid, and I knew he was going to be a great player. He makes it easy. I know I’m a great player, and I’m starting to play better now. I’m really enjoying it here in Holland, and there’s only one Amsterdam in the whole world.” Perhaps Strickland’s most telling comment came when asked why he seemed a much calmer man: “The doctors have got me on medication!” Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Mosconi Cup.
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