SCOTTISH OPEN: Perry squeezes through in Scotland after a last-ball decider

Joe Perry admitted '˜Lady Luck' was certainly on his side after prevailing in a dramatic last-ball finale with Adam Duffy to reach the second round of the Coral Scottish Open.
Joe Perry.Joe Perry.
Joe Perry.

The Chatteris potter looked down and out when Duffy cued down for the green on its spot in the final frame, but an unfortunate kick worked in Perry’s favour and he cleared up to win 4-3 this afternoon (December 13).

But the world number eight was far from his best against an opponent 99 places lower in the rankings, with parts of his performance leaving cause for concern in Glasgow’s Emirates Arena.

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For Perry, that was in no small part due to the conditions of the game, feeling his luck was deserved after being the better cueman for large parts of the match.

“The balls were playing heavy and we both had a lot of kicks, which made things really difficult if weren’t pinpoint with your positional play,” Perry said.

“I feel terrible, I’m full of cold but I was alright on the table, in good form without having a chance to win comfortably.

“In the end I was lucky enough to get over the line.

“I was quite good in and amongst the balls, solid with my safety and clinical when I got my chance after the first frame.

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“He was all over the place, but had a couple of lucky shots to get back in. Luckily for me his momentum ran out at just the wrong moment.”

A second-round clash with Iranian Hossein Vafaei Ayouri is next up for Perry tomorrow (Decmber 14), though he knows an improvement will be needed if he is to progress against the world No.78.

And having lost to lower-ranked players in his last three tournaments, there’s little room for complacency for the 42-year-old.

But early breaks of 84 and 71 today showed it was not all bad news, admitting the situation at times got the better of him in this, the third event of the Coral Home Nations Series.

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“The end of the game was completely farcical, we were both guilty of missing chances and I struggled to get over the line having lost so many matches recently,” he said.

“I played well in the beginning, but the table beat us both – you think you’re getting in a perfect position but you hit the cushion and suddenly you went three feet past.

“You try and keep composed and handle that the best you can, but when it keeps happening it really starts to get you down which is what happened to me.”

Watch the Scottish Open LIVE on Eurosport 1 and Quest, featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.

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