Team USA Leads by 4 on Day 3 of the 2004 Mosconi Cup

Team USA Leads by 4 on Day 3 of the 2004 Mosconi Cup Europe 4 – 8 USAHotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee - With four sessions of the 2004 Mosconi Cup played, things are looking ominous for Team Europe as they suffered the bitter blow of losing all three of this afternoon's doubles matches to create a four-point deficit between themselves and their American opponents.In previous years, doubles play had been one of the Europeans’ strong points, but Ortmann and Engert lost narrowly to Archer and Owen, and then things became progressively worse. First Williams and Robles squeezed past Davis and Feijen in a mistake-riddled encounter, and then the super-strong pairing of Morris and Strickland white-washed the Scandinavian duo of Immonen and Chamat.
Oliver Ortmann & Thomas Engert 4 – 5 Johnny Archer & Gabe Owen In a tension-packed thriller, Team America’s pairing of Gabe Owen and Johnny Archer won at the last gasp to put the USA two points clear for the first time in the tournament. The match was a real Mosconi Cup classic, containing all the elements of drama and ultimately heartbreak, as Team Europe crumbled at the last.With the crowd noticeably more lively than yesterday, both teams made their way into the arena, and the pressure was palpable. USA won the lag, and Archer made his intentions plain as he spread the balls across the table, and from there Team USA cleared to go ahead. With no shot on the 2 ball, Engert had to play safe in the next, but Owen returned the favor, leaving Ortmann in a tight spot that he escaped via the jump cue. Archer left a tricky 2-5 combo that Engert took on to get the Europeans back in the rack. From there the German duo ran out to level it up.Owen came up dry on the break, and with the 1 ball on for Europe, they held their nerve to go into a 2 – 1 lead. Engert’s break stick let him down in the next, but after an exchange of safeties, Owen took on a tough 2 ball and made it to get Team USA to the table. The layout was tough, but they played it superbly to take the rack.Another pearler of a break from Archer saw two balls drop and the cue ball parked nicely in the middle of a table. Team USA then dished up to go 3 – 2 ahead. Hanging onto their coat tails, the Germans ran out the next to level, and there was more drama in the seventh as Owen missed a long cut on the 6 ball. However, Ortmann missed it himself when it seemed easier to pot, and Archer bravely saw the 6 home. With the 7, 8, and 9 out in the open, the match spun in the American’s favor at 4 – 3.Things took another turn for the worse in the next rack as Engert failed to make a ball on the break. Owen pushed out, and Europe gave it back to Archer, but in the end it was a fluke from Ortmann, cannoning in the 3 ball, that gave the two Germans a chance, and they ran out under pressure to take the match to hill-hill.In the final rack, Owen had a flash at 2-9 combo to win the match but made sure the cue ball went safe, and Engert’s table length jump shot left the 2 on and the balls in the open. It was a formality for the Americans, and they made sure to take the point and move 6 – 4 ahead. A delighted Archer commented, “Nerves get going in a match like that -- it goes back and forth, and it’s about who will crack first. That’s the type of match that I enjoy, and I thought Gabe handled it very well.”Niels Feijen & Steve Davis 3 - 5 Charlie Williams & Tony Robles Team USA is three points ahead in the 2004 Mosconi Cup after Charlie Williams and Tony Robles overcame early wobbles to outplay Steve Davis and Niels Feijen, winning 5-3. As the match dragged on, the European pairing was always playing catch-up and in the end, their unbeaten record thrown to the wind.The first rack was far from the regular standard of the Mosconi Cup. After Davis missed a cut on the 3 ball, Robles missed two successive pot attempts, leaving the 4 ball on for Feijen – who also failed to pot the pink! The rack was a comedy of errors, with none of the four players settling in to their stride, but America finally cleared to take it against the lag, and they then ran the second in more convincing fashion.In the third rack, Feijen was forced to push out from Davis’s break, and the snooker star was put back in where he got some much needed luck to leave Williams snookered. Europe finished the rack to get on the scoresheet and was back to the table in the next when Robles left Williams out of position on the 6 ball, and although he jumped out, Williams left Feijen a chance to snooker Robles, which he took well.It looked as if Robles’ luck would change when he jumped out of the snooker and potted the green 6, but an unlucky scratch allowed Europe the chance to level the match. The fifth rack ebbed and flowed before Feijen missed a tricky 5 ball, and the Americans cleared to edge ahead again. A break and run-out in the sixth rack took Robles and Williams to the hill, but the Europeans showed their fighting spirit by clearing the next. Robles came up dry, handing Europe a chance, but poor positioning from Feijen meant Davis had to attempt a jump on the 2 ball, which he hit but didn’t pot. The Americans took full advantage to claim another vital point in their quest to retain the Mosconi Cup. Mika Immonen & Marcus Chamat 0 – 5 Earl Strickland & Rodney Morris In the final match of the session, the Team USA pairing of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris handed down a sound 5 - 0 beating to Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat to leave Team Europe looking down the barrel of a gun. At 8 – 4 down with three more singles matches this evening, Oliver Ortmann will need to rally his troops if he is to extend their opponents into a final session on Sunday evening.Strickland got the match underway and, after an exchange of safeties, he and Morris ran out in double-quick time to take the first rack. They piled on the misery for Team Europe in the second, as Mika Immonen messed up a jump shot to give the table back to Morris and Strickland, and they cleared to go 2 – 0. The next was a gimme for Team USA, as Morris spread the balls across the table and left an elementary run out for 3 – 0. By now the sizeable crowd had been well and truly subdued as another USA point loomed. Both teams had opportunities in the next rack before Immonen gifted it to the USA as he missed an easy bank shot on the blue 2 into the bottom pocket to leave the table for the Americans. Just one more rack was required and another gaffe by the Finn made that a formality as Strickland and Morris completed a comfortable 5 – 0 victory. Tonight’s singles line-up is as follows: Thomas Engert v Rodney Morris Oliver Ortmann v Tony Robles Marcus Chamat v Earl Strickland Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Mosconi Cup.

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