Allen finishes off Ford

2009 semi-finalist through to second round

Last updated: 18th April 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Allen finishes off Ford

Allen: Straightforward win

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Mark Allen is safely through to the second round of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship after a 10-4 victory over qualifier Tom Ford.

The Northern Irishman took an 8-1 overnight lead into Sunday's session on the second morning of competition at the Crucible.

Victory seemed a forgone conclusion for last year's semi-finalist, but Ford put up a fight, winning the first two frames of the session.

Breaks of 39 and 77 secured the first frame of the day before the 26-year-old came from behind in the next frame to reduce the gap to five.

Ford then took a 38-0 lead in the 12th frame but came unstuck on a regulation red, allowing his opponent to compile a break of 61.

The Leicester player could not recover and Allen moved to the brink of victory before Ford reduced the deficit again before the mid-session interval thanks to a break of 58.

After the interval, Ford took a 41-point lead in the 13th frame, but Allen stormed back to clinch the contest, rounding off his winning break by deliberately fouling on the final black.

Allen will face either Ryan Day or Mark Davis in the second round.