'It was embarrassing' - John Higgins tears into his own performance in win over David Gilbert at Northern Ireland Open

Updated 15/10/2021 at 22:12 GMT

“It was embarrassing there,” John Higgins said on Eurosport following his win over David Gilbert in the quarter finals of the Northern Ireland Open. “It was tough, tough. I was missing shots with feet to spare. My action was all over the place and I think I brought Dave down. It was tough at the end there.”

'It was embarrassing' - Higgins rips his own performance apart

John Higgins was unhappy with his performance during his 5-3 win over David Gilbert in the quarter finals of the Northern Ireland Open.

The Scot’s form had been up and down during the week, with some impressive play during his victory over Mark Williams in the previous round.

He was kept cold by Gilbert early on, but knocked in an 81 in the third and an outrageous fluke in the fourth tipped the scales in Higgins’ favour.

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Higgins was able to get over the line despite being a step short of his best, but was not pleased with his performance.

“It was embarrassing there,” Higgins said on Eurosport. “It was tough, tough.

I was missing shots with feet to spare. My action was all over the place, and I think I brought Dave down. It was tough at the end there.

Higgins said his tip did not play well, and felt that was a contributing factor.

“The tip was brick hard,” Higgins said. “I was cueing across everything. I don’t know how it has got so hard in a day. It is a brick.

“I will maybe have to shape it for tomorrow. I would not like to put a new one on for tomorrow."

Higgins felt the cloth played heavy, and has called for the tables to be re-covered midway through events - as opposed to only for the semi-finals and final.

“There have been so many matches played, and to recover for the semi-finals and the final,” he said. “They should maybe do a re-cover during the tournament as it was tough out there.”

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Northern Ireland Open