Team USA on the Hill at Mosconi Cup

Team USA on the Hill at Mosconi CupU.S. skipper Johnny Archer, partnered by Jeremy Jones, took Team USA to the brink of Mosconi Cup glory as they scored a victory over Thorsten Hohmann and Raj Hundal of Europe to move to the hill in the race-to-11 competition. Things started brightly for the Europeans as they won the opening doubles match to take themselves within one point of the Americans. It was all downhill from there, though, as the Americans proceeded to win the next four matches to make Sunday’s play a formality Williams/Putnam 3-5 Feijen/Lely Mika Immonen’s decision to change his doubles pairings around paid dividends as a rejuvenated Alex Lely, partnered by the rock-solid Niels Feijen, went past the American duo of Shawn Putnam and Charlie Williams to pull the deficit back to just one point on Day 3 of the 2005 Mosconi Cup.
It was a must-win situation for Team Europe, and Lely turned in an outstanding performance after looking shaky through the first two days. Europe took the first rack after some tight safety play by Feijen and Lely allowed them to control the table. Putnam, who is showing no visible nerves on his Mosconi Cup debut, put one of his monster breaks to good use as he spread the balls across the table leaving an easy run-out that he and Williams completed. Following Lely’s break in the next, Feijen was forced to play safe. Lely, though, regained control of the table with a superb kick off two rails, and although the Americans got back to the table, it was only to escape from safeties. Team Europe then completed the run out to go 2-1 into the lead. The Americans ran out from the break, and although there were a few awkward moments, Putnam and Williams held their nerve well to level it. After the myriad errors from both teams yesterday, today was a sea change as all four players looked in stroke. The Europeans regained the lead in the next as they ran out from the break. Team America took an age to work out their options following the break. Eventually, Williams messed up a safety, and the Europeans potted the 1, but with the blue 2 tied up, a safety was called for. It wasn’t the best, so Putnam took it on and missed. The rack turned around for Team USA, though, when Lely completely miscued on the brown 7, rolling the cue ball straight in to the pocket. With ball in hand, Team USA won an unlikely rack to level things at 3-3. Lely, though, got his confidence back in the next as he broke nicely and then, with his partner, cleared the table to get to the hill. The Americans got tied up on the 2 ball in what was to be the final rack of the match, and Williams’ banked attempt narrowly missed. Unfortunately for him, it fell perfectly for Team Europe, and from there the dynamic Dutch duo completed a morale-boosting victory. “We played really good, and we switched pairs because the doubles weren't working too good over the first two days,” said Feijen. “Alex was tactically better today, and I'm a better shot-maker, so it worked well for us. We were worried after the miscue, but we only needed two racks, and that was awesome match to win,” he added. Rodney Morris 5-4 Alex Lely “Rocket” Rodney Morris edged past Lely in a topsy-turvy encounter that could have gone either way. Morris re-asserted Team USA's two-point lead – but it was only a stroke of luck when Lely scratched on the break in Rack 8 that gave him the chance. Lely looked nervous on the lag when he failed to even reach the headstring, but Morris relinquished the advantage the extra break gives when he left the 2 ball hanging, and Lely completed a clearance to take the lead. A break-and-run saw him open up clear water before Morris ran out to get off the mark. Lely took the score to 3-1 with a neat 2-9 combination before Morris again cleared from the break to cut the deficit. And the scores were soon level after Lely missed a bank of the green 6 and Morris cut it in before benefiting from a touch of fortune as the cue ball bounced back off the bottom rail and sent the 9 spinning into the top corner. The match was back on break with Morris in the driving seat, but the Hawaiian overcut a long shot on the 2 to leave an open table for Lely to advance to the hill. But a scratch on the penultimate rack break from the Dutchman saw another swing in the balance of power. And three balls on the final break left a road map for Morris to claim the vital victory. "I was very lucky,” Morris said. "I needed things to roll my way, and it changed right at the end. "Losing the white ball almost cost me the match from the first rack, and Alex just had to hold serve, but I got very fortunate when he had the roll. "It was huge for me to win because they would have been level with the momentum, but now we have the slight advantage again. "This is the best tournament in the world – the best atmosphere and the best format – it'd be great to win it again." Morris/Strickland 5-2 Chamat/Immonen Team USA piled on the misery for the Europeans as they moved further away as the Mosconi Cup action on Day 3 unfolded. Strickland and Morris, who paired up for the first time in Holland last year, have now won five consecutive Mosconi Cup doubles matches, and the European pairing of Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat, accompanied by some bad breaks, could offer scant resistance. Immonen won the lag for Europe, but a rush of blood from Chamat when he attempted a tough-looking cross-table bank on the 1 ball handed an open table back to the Americans. From there, they made no mistakes as they cleared to go 1-0 ahead. There were no mistakes from Team USA in the next as Strickland’s break shot set up another easy run-out. With the 1 ball tied up following Immonen’s break, Chamat elected to push out. Morris took the banked safety on, but not only did he pocket the 1 ball, he also scratched to give Europe a big chance to fight back. With ball in hand, Team Europe ran out to get back to 1-2. Immonen had another chance in the next when Strickland missed a bank shot, but Immonen cruelly scratched, and with ball in hand, the Americans cleared to get further ahead at 3-1. It was clear sailing in the next rack for Team America, and at 4-1 down, the Europeans looked dead and buried. Strickland scratched off the break, though, and Team Europe completed a nervy run-out to leave themselves a lifeline. A great break from Chamat threw up some more bad luck as the cue ball and the 1 were obscured by the green 7. The push-out was poor, though, and left the 1 ball on. Morris took it before Strickland played a marvellous shot to pot the 2 ball and gain position up table on the 4. From there it was a formality for the Americans as Morris and Strickland coasted to victory. Strickland was in ebullient mood after the match, “Rodney and I played really well, and we only made one mistake. They were unfortunate, not getting shots after the break, but we’re a dynamic team, and if we get the rolls we'll shoot people full of holes,” he said. Morris added, “There were some uncharacteristic mistakes from Mika, but they didn’t get any shots off the breaks, so it’s hard to stay focused – the pool gods were against them. “Playing with Earl is a dream come true, I grew up watching him play, and he's the reason why I play pool,” said the Hawaiian. Earl Strickland 5-2 Marcus Chamat Strickland continued America's march towards a successful defense of the Mosconi Cup by strolling past Chamat in their singles match. Once again, the Swede had no luck with his break, but Strickland was in imperious form – following on immediately from an equally impressive doubles performance. The pair traded run-outs in the first two racks, but Team Europe's bad luck on breaks continued as Chamat scratched in the center pocket in Rack 3. Strickland snookered himself on the orange 5 and but produced a classic jump shot around the ball to sink it and set himself up for a clearance. Two more run-outs followed before Strickland produced a golden break courtesy of three kicks to send the 9 all the way up the table. Strickland then ran out and completed the routine victory after Chamat lost control of the table again in what proved to be the final rack. "Things are bouncing my way – Marcus is a great player, but I'm playing well,” Strickland said. "He scratched on the break and didn't make any balls on another one, so he was unfortunate. "I've played well before, but I've worked on my break in the practice room and now I'm breaking a lot better – it's probably the weakest link in my game, but I got a golden break and that is terribly discouraging to your opponent. "It's not all over yet, though, I'm happy I've won all my matches but the rolls can change and it's not over yet. "We're all great players, some might be a little more nervous than others but the balls can turn. "I keep the fire in my team – I don't let them relax, I'm all over them like a cheap suit!" Jones/Archer 5-3 Hohmann/Hundal The pairing of Archer and Jones in the final scotch doubles match of the day took Team USA to the hill in the race to 11 that is the Mosconi Cup. In the opening rack, following a safety exchange, Hohmann was forced to make a two-cushion escape, which failed to come off. With ball in hand, Archer and Jones cleared up to go into an early lead. Archer’s break shot in the second saw the cue ball fly off the table, and with ball in hand, the Europeans worked their way around the table. The problem came with the 8 ball, which was flush on the top rail with the cue ball in the jaws of the adjacent pocket, forcing Hohmann to play the ball rail first. He missed it and left a tough one on for Jones, but the burly American over-cut it, and it fell perfectly for the Europeans. They knocked in the 8 and 9 to level things at 1-1. Hundal played a good shot to get out of a snooker, but he left the two ball on for Archer. From there, the Americans completed the clearance to regain the lead. There was more misery for the Europeans in the next as Hundal scratched. Archer, though, missed a relatively easy 7 ball. Hundal had to take the pot on, but he missed it, and although Jones miscued himself on the 7, it dropped and from there Team USA took the rack to increase their lead. Another miss, this time by Hundal as he over-cut the pink 4 down the rail, presented a gilt-edged opportunity, and again Team USA took it with both hands to reach the hill. The Europeans, looking decidedly shaky, managed to claw one back in the next after Jones ran out of position and was forced to kick out. There was more good news for Team Europe in the next as Hundal and Hohmann ran out from the break. At 4-3 down, there was still a glimmer of hope. Jones broke but lost control of the cue ball. The 1 and the 7 balls dropped and the blue 2 was available into the bottom left pocket. Archer dropped it in, and then Team USA negotiated the rest of the table to take the match 5-3 and leave the Europeans reeling. “We can’t look at victory yet. There are more matches to play, and all twelve players know how to play nine-ball. Anything can happen, and it won’t be over till the last ball drops,” said Jones. “We pump each other up and work well as a team because all year we’re beating each others brains out for a dollar!” he added.Visit InsidePOOL Magazine for the latest pool and billiards news.

Pool Balls and Billiard Balls at LOW PRICES!!!

About the Author:
Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.