Teams Tied at 2004 Mosconi Cup

Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee

17th December

Europe 3 – 3  USA

It’s all square after the second session of the 2004 Mosconi Cup as Europe won two of the three afternoon doubles matches to haul back the o­ne-point deficit from Thursday night.  In fact, it was o­nly some stellar play in the final match by Rodney Morris and Earl Strickland that staved off a 3 – 0 whitewash.

First Mika Immonen and a super-charged Marcus Chamat put points o­n the board for their team, and then the pairing of Davis and Feijen delivered a killer blow, coming from behind for victory over Archer and Owen.  With three singles matches this evening, the tournament is delicately poised. 

Mika Immonen & Marcus Chamat  5 – 0  Charlie Williams & Tony Robles

Birthday boy Mika Immonen and his doubles partner Marcus Chamat made the best possible start to Day Two of the 2004 Mosconi Cup with a 5-0 whitewash of Tony Robles and Charlie Williams.  With the lag won, Team Europe took the opener as they ran out from the break. In the second, Robles got a ball down but with the 3 ball snookered, Williams elected to push out.  He left a glimmer of light for Immonen, who made the finest of cuts to get Team Europe to the table.  Chamat undid the good work, though, as poor positional play left Immonen a too-tough shot o­n the brown 7, which he subsequently missed.

The ball ran into a safe position, but Robles made a mess of the safety to leave a two-ball run-out for the Europeans to go to 2–0.  Another run out from the break took the score to 3–0 and a dry break allowed Immonen to push out in the next.  Robles, who wasn’t having his greatest day, made a hash of the safety o­n the 1 ball, and Team Europe took the rack with a difficult run-out.

America got back to the table in the next, and Robles had a chance at a table-length 2-9 combination. He snatched at it, though, as the 9 ball ran clear.  Williams had a go at the 3-9 before Mika Immonen grabbed control with a superb long pot o­n the red 3. From there, the dynamic Euro duo ran out to take the match 5–0.

“We got off to a flying start, and I felt comfortable and positive,” Immonen, 32 o­n the day, said. “Charlie’s now lost six Mosconi Cup matches o­n the row – I feel bad for him as a friend, but as a European team member, I don’t care.”

Chamat added, “I told Mika I was nervous in the first couple of racks but then felt okay afterwards.  We always have good team spirit – we know each other well, and we’re feeling confident.”

Niels Feijen & Steve Davis  5 – 3  Johnny Archer & Gabe Owen

There was more joy for the Europeans in the second match of the Friday afternoon session as Steve Davis and Niels Feijen came back from 2–0 down to get the better of the US pairing of Johnny Archer and Gabe Owen.

Both players were magnificent in shot selection and execution, and the scotch doubles format certainly favored the more inexperienced Davis, as his consultations with his partner were critical.

The Americans took the first rack against the break, and a nerveless table-length bank o­n the 2 ball in the next by Owen really opened the table up for the Americans, and they cleared to get to 2–0.Owen had a flash at the 1 ball in the next, but the Europeans took control of the table courtesy of some tidy potting from Davis and Feijen, and they ran out to get to 2–1.

Things went even better for Team Europe in the next when Owen came up dry o­n the break, and Feijen executed a tidy 3-9 carom to level the scores at 2–2.  There was more good news for the Europeans in the fifth rack, as Davis and Feijen showed composure under pressure to take the lead for the first time.  Archer made a couple of balls o­n the break in the next, but Owen missed a difficult pot o­n the 3 ball to allow Feijen to seize the initiative for Team Europe, and with the pair of them looking increasingly comfortable, they ran a tough layout to go to 4–2.

Davis’ powder-puff break came good in the seventh as the orange 5 dropped to leave Feijen o­n the 1 ball.  Davis, though, made the first mistake of the match for the Europeans as he missed a bank o­n the 2 ball.  Archer nearly blew it for the Americans as he left Owen a tough cut o­n the 8 ball after leaving the cue ball in the o­ne place o­n the table that made it difficult. But Owen bailed him out, and Archer deposited the 9 ball to get back to 4–3 down.

“The Scorpion” failed to make a ball o­n the next break, and Feijen drew a huge roar from the crowd as he powered a near-impossible 1 ball into the top right pocket and held the cue ball for the blue 2.From there Feijen and Davis took out the remaining balls to cement a 5–3 win and put Team Europe back into the lead at 3–2.

A delighted Davis, clearly enjoying himself, beamed. “What a partner I’ve got – what a shot o­n the o­ne ball in the last rack!  He said it goes, and I said you play it then – but Niels is playing some great stuff. The biggest problem I have with nine-ball is not knowing whether it’s the right shot, but Niels helps me and we work well together.”

Feijen, back in the side after two years away, said, “I’m liking it, I’m pumped up, and Steve’s backing me up. Steve sometimes stops, and o­n the problem shots we talk about things, but it’s going well so far.”

Oliver Ortmann & Thomas Engert  4 – 5  Earl Strickland & Rodney Morris

Super-cool Rodney Morris kept his nerve to haul Team USA back o­n level terms at the end of the second session of the 2004 Mosconi Cup.  With his partner Earl Strickland looking like he may blow his top, Morris’s brand of sarcasm and humor ensured the lid stayed o­n their match with Europe’s all-German pairing of Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert.

In the end, a cagey encounter finished with the Americans coming out o­n top – but the match could have swung either way with both pairings taking their turn to lead.  After Strickland won the lag, Morris missed the 1 ball, and the Europeans ran out for a 1-0 lead against the break.  In the second rack, Strickland surprisingly opted to play a shot o­n the 1 ball himself left-handed, rather than allowing, as the rules of scotch doubles dictate, his natural southpaw partner to take the shot as it was their first visit of the rack.

The German duo were allowed back to the table, but Ortmann’s poor shot o­n the 4 ball resulted in a scratch, and the scores were soon level.  America ran the third rack to take the lead, but the Europeans responded with the same to restore parity.  Morris missed a 1-9 combination in the fifth rack and a safety exchange ensued, the highlight of which was Strickland’s table-length pot of the 1 ball through a narrow channel by the right-hand rail.

“The Pearl” then fluked the 2 ball after more snookers, but when Engert cut in the 3 ball after a Strickland jump shot left it o­n, the Europeans took the driving seat again and, in rather uncomfortable fashion, cleared the table to move 3-2 ahead.

Ortmann’s break left Engert snookered o­n a hanging 1 ball in the sixth rack, and he fouled, allowing America to draw back to 3-3 in what was becoming a nail-biting encounter.  With nerves rising, Morris handled the unpredictable Strickland perfectly, calming his partner (and hero) down and joking his way around the table as America reached the hill.

But the Europeans weren’t giving up easily and forced a deciding rack with a break-and-run.  It looked as if Strickland had come up dry o­n the final break, but the 3 ball finally dropped, and the pair cleared the table to bring the tournament level at 3-3.

Morris’s match-winning tactics in talking his volatile teammate out of a potentially explosive situation was what team play was all about, and he explained his thinking afterwards.  “I think I was trying to show that if you don’t take it too serious, try and enjoy it and have a good time, it will fall into place, and you will prevail.”

Strickland was o­nce again full of praise for his colleague. “I don’t have to worry about leaving Rodney in position. He’s a good natural player like myself.  It’s always good to win the lag in this format, because you get to break if it goes hill-hill. If we hadn’t have won that last, it could have been 4–2 to them coming into singles.  Both teams are in a good position after the first two sessions and it is going to be exciting.”

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