TEAM USA are closing in on regaining the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup and only need four more points for glory.

America, who have not won the cup outright since 2005, dominated the second day by winning three of the four matches and now lead 7-2 in the race to 11.

The doubles pairings of Hatch and Dominguez and Archer and Van Boening won for the hosts, while Thorsten Hohmann gained some rare European success when he triumphed in his singles match with Corey Deuel.

However, a critical point of the whole competition could be in the last match when Archer, who had trailed 5-1 down, won five racks in a row to beat Darren Appleton 6-5.

"My heart skipped a few beats and it's tough to breathe," said Archer. "The Mosconi Cup brings a lot on to you.

"My crowd pulled me through, the crowd and my team mates. At 5-1 down all I could do was hope for mistakes and take it a ball at a time and maybe I could chip back. Then it was close and I got a shot to win it at the end.

"I do feel for other players and Darren is an awesome player and an awesome guy. He was putting his heart and soul into the match for his team. I've been there and made mistakes and it's hard to handle but he will come back from that I have no doubts.

"I know we were ahead but if you lose, you lose the momentum and that's a big momentum shift back in our favour."

Earlier in the day, European captain Alex Lely had tried to seize the early initiative by starting out with his dream pair of Ralf Souquet and Niels Feijen. But the tactic backfired as his men were outplayed by Shane Van Boening and Johnny Archer who recorded a 6-2 win.

That victory moved the score to 5-1 instead of 4-2 and Archer revealed the atmosphere in the American camp.

"We're meeting at 8.30am every morning, having a nice meeting, telling jokes, relaxing, practising for two hours and ready for action.

"So far, this is one of the best teams I've ever been in. We're all a team and all pulling and squeezing together. We're living and breathing with each other and that takes a lot of the pressure off as if they make a mistake then there's someone ready to pick them up."

Thorsten Hohmann relieved some of the pressure mounting on Team Europe as he dug deep to defeat Corey Deuel 6-4 and give Europe only their second point of the tournament.

The critical moment came in the ninth game with the match finely poised at 4-4. Deuel could only watch in horror as the cue ball vanished into the side pocket after a thin cut attempt on the 2-ball.

Hohmann finished the rack with a 4-9 combination and a dry break from Deuel sealed the American's fate. The relief was clear for Hohmann as he pumped his fist at his cheering team mates.

The European fightback was short lived as Oscar Dominguez and Dennis Hatch took down Mika Immonen and Darren Appleton in a dramatic match to restore a four point lead for the USA

Hatch, 38, is emerging as the personality of the tournament with some stellar play as he wears his considerable heart on his sleeve. His chalk and cheese pairing with the diminutive Dominguez proved a perfect combination as they got the better of a fading European pair.

'The Hatchetman' played off the crowd and could barely contain himself as every rack went down. When the final 9 ball dropped, he made his way to the European corner and vented his fury at Alex Lely who he felt had insulted him earlier in the match when Hatch failed to notice that the requisite number of balls did not pass the headstring following his break.

"He (Lely) said 'one plus one' like I couldn't count after a break and that was just rude so I couldn't wait to get payback for that," said an emotional Hatch.

"This means more than anything in the world. The pressure is unbelievable, you're nervous, emotional and you have to hold the tears back.

"This is about playing for your country, your brothers and your fans. This is the most amazing thing I've ever done in my life - I love it."

Hatch broke down in tears mid-interview, his second tearful moment of the first two days and his blend of fire and emotion is proving hugely popular with the large American crowd.

The real kick in the teeth for the Europeans came in the final match of the session as Darren Appleton gave up a 5-1 lead to Johnny Archer as the overall score after two days moved to 7-2 in favour of the Europeans.

A 6-3 score line would have seen the Europeans in with some sort of chance but they now have a mountain to climb.

The Englishman seemed to be shrinking in his chair as Archer clawed the racks back and grew in strength with the crowd.

When the final 9 ball fell it was a killer blow for the European team and captain Alex Lely will have the job of his life to turn this situation around.

The Scores
USA LEAD 7-2
DECEMBER 11, 2009
Souquet/Feijen 2–6 Archer/Van Boening
Thorsten Hohmann 6–4 Corey Deuel
Immonen/Appleton 4–6 Dominguez/Hatch
Darren Appleton 5–6 Johnny Archer

Live in its entirety on Sky Sports in the UK, the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup features two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA doing battle in a series of singles and doubles matches. Now in its 16th year, the Americans hold a 10-4 lead with one tied match in 2006.

Date posted: December 12, 2009

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