Britain and Ireland's amateurs took the first steps towards an historic third successive Walker Cup victory over America at Ganton this morning.
After British champion Gary Wolstenholme and 19-year-old Michael Skelton had lost the opening foursomes from three up the other three pairings responded brilliantly to build a 3-1 lead.
Irish duo Noel Fox and Colm Moriarty lost the first two holes to Adam Rubinson and Casey Wittenberg, but rallied for a convincing four and two success.
Welsh pair Nigel Edwards and Stuart Manley were never behind against Chris Nallen and Ryan Moore and won three and two when Manley made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th.
And then Scots Stuart Wilson and David Inglis, three down after seven, beat 50-year-old George Zahringer and Lee Williams on the last.
Britain and Ireland won the last two matches - at Nairn in Scotland in 1999 and Sea Island in Georgia two years ago - by emphatic 15-9 margins. Yet they had to come from behind on the second day both times.
Wolstenholme was a member of both those sides and was looking for the three points he needed he become Britain and Ireland's record points-scorer in the match.
Fox and Moriarty gave themselves an uphill task by losing the first two holes, but they birdied the fourth, fifth and ninth to be one up.
They also bogeyed the 10th, but Fox rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th to give them the advantage once more and after losing the 14th to a birdie the Americans conceded the next two.
W'holme/Skelton (lost 2 and 1)Haas/Kuehne
Wilson/Inglis (Won 2 holes)Williams/Z'nger
Edwards/Manley (Won 3 and 2)Nallen/Moore
Fox/Moriarty (Won 4 and 2)Rubinson/W'berg