Goffin roars back from two sets down against Edmund to give Belgium 1-0 lead

World number 100 Kyle Edmund stunned the Ghent crowd when taking the first set 6-3 against world number 16 David Goffin.

He wrapped up the second set 6-1 with Goffin apparently all over the place in struggling to cope with the heavy hitting of the bigger man before Edmund himself appeared to choke as his opponent flattened him in the final three sets in a match lasting two hours and 45 minutes.

"It was not easy, " said Goffin. "It was tough for me to find my timing. If Kyle continued playing like he was, I would have said well down. But I knew if I found my timing, I had a small chance.

"He was really aggressive in the first two sets with his forehand. That is why he won the first two sets."

It was the first time in his career that Goffin had fought back from falling two sets down to complete a victory that was vital to the home team's hopes of winning the event for the first time in the history of the Davis Cup.

The British camp will need to raise the morale of Edmund for the second singles match as he slumped in his seat at the end of the match looking utterly crushed as Goffin celebrated wildly in front of his fans.

British number one and world number two Andy Murray is a hot favourite to level the final when he faces Ruben Bemelmans in the second of Friday's singles match.

Edmund was a surprise choice by Great Britain captain Leon Smith and was not given much of a chance against Goffin on the Ghent clay.

But Edmund, 20, was fearless in his shot selection as he raced into an amazing 5-0 lead in the first set, utilising his big forehand to devastating effect.

Goffin fought back with his first hold of the set and then broke back to give himself a glimmer of hope. But after Goffin had held again, Edmund saw out his next service game to give Britain an early lead.

After stumbling at 5-0 down to recover, Edmund regained momentum in the second set as he rattled off four straight games to open up a 4-1 lead. Goffin looked lost, perhaps struggling with the pressure of playing in front of his home supporters as he missed easy shots.

Edmund by contrast was overflowing with confidence, a booming serve bringing up a 5-1 lead in the second set.

The Brit then benefitted from a Goffin double fault to take the second set 6-1 – it was the second service game in a row that Goffin had surrendered in such fashion.

Edmund continued his imperious form at the start of the third, taking the first game courtesy of an audacious disguised volley at the net which had Goffin sprinting in the wrong direction.

But having won seven games in a row, he then conceded the next four. Goffin seemed to have regained the poise he had completely lost while Edmund suddenly began to miss shots he would have easily dispatched in the first two sets.

Edmund stemmed the bleeding to break back at 4-2 but Goffin took the next two to pull a set back.

And the Belgian levelled matters by racing through the fourth set 6-1 to set up a thrilling finale.

The writing was already on the way as Edmund began to resemble a man playing on the Challenger Tour as his game collapsed with Goffin rapidly improving and the 13,000 home crowd almost contributing to a lap of honour for their man in the final set.