Niels Feijen
The first match on day three of the 2011 Mosconi Cup started out sloppy, but the level of play was back at top level before the match was complete.
Shawn Putnam and Mike Dechaine took advantage of a couple missed balls by Niels Feijen and Darren Appleton early and held a 2-0 lead, but Europe dug down and quickly knotted the score at 2-2 and then went on to take the lead at 3-2 after a very smart safety from Niels led to ball in hand.
Back to back misses in rack six led to a 1-9 combo for Darren and Team Europe took a 4-2 lead.
The pool gods got involved at a crucial moment in rack seven when Feijen missed a bank shot so badly that the ball found a pocket 4 1/2 feet away. That led to another run by Team Europe and a 5-2 lead.
Putnam and Dechaine broke and ran rack eight to claw back to 5-3, but the match was decided in rack nine when Niels won an extended - and very well played - safety battle with a table length kick to make the 2 ball. Europe went on to run that rack and enjoy their second three point lead of the week at 7-4.
Next up, Shawn Putnam vs Darren Appleton in a rematch of their US Open final match.
