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Neil Robertson produced a remarkable comeback to beat Martin Gould 13-12 in their second round World Championship match at the Crucible.

Trailing 11-5 going into the final session, Robertson knew he needed to win eight of the final nine frames and he did exactly that to set up a quarter-final meeting with Steve Davis.

Robertson played very well to win, but Gould who is ranked 46 in the world, was the victim of some clear stage fright as he tried to close out the biggest win of his career.

Robertson got just the start he needed with confidence boosting breaks of 64 and 112 closing the gap to 11-7.

Gould's woes continued in the next frame as he missed both an easy black and a simple pink right at the start of potential breaks allowing Robertson to take the frame and the Aussie made it a clean sweep before the mid-session interval as a break of 41 proved the cornerstone for the next frame.

There was controversy in the next frame as Gould became the victim of a refereeing error that will haunt Belgian Oliver Martel who was wearing the white gloves at the Crucible for the first time.

Early in a break, Gould asked for the white ball to be cleaned; Martel picked up the cue ball without marking it, and then there was a five minute delay making sure it was respotted in the right place. The delay seemed to affect Gould as he then proceeded to miss the next red and ultimately he lost the frame.

That made it 11-10 but Gould did move to within one frame of victory in the next by winning a scrappy one, and victory was again within his grasp.

Both players had their chances in the next, but Robertson finally took it on the colours and then a couple of mini-breaks in the following frame saw him take it to a decider.

An early break of 40 had put Gould in a good position to take that last frame but then Robertson hit back with a 52 before getting back in to get the final red and the colours he needed for a famous victory.

Second session report

A buoyant Martin Gould is two frames from victory against Neil Robertson and leads 11-5 heading into the final session of their World Championship last-16 match at the Crucible.

World number 46 Gould, leading 6-2 after the morning session, completed a fantastic day with five of the eight frames to leave the nine-ranked Australian bemused in his seat.

There was little sign of the form to come in the first frame of the evening, Gould letting his opponent in for Robertson to execute an 86 clearance with confident potting.

But Gould's confidence was not knocked and he scored 93 without reply in the next with runs of 31 and 46.

A long red from the twice English amateur champion gave him the table but he could not capitalise, Robertson making sure the match goes into a final session with a 61-22 frame score.

And that was the moment Gould really kicked on. A 58 break gave him an 8-4 advantage before a poor shot selection saw Robertson miss a red; Gould ultimately cleared up with a long-double red the highlight, although the pink was missed and travelled around the table before dropping.

A piece of luck helped him go 10-4 up, Robertson missing an easy pink in the same bottom-right pocket where he himself had spurned a simple chance on a red following a brilliant 53 break - and the pink came back to rattle in the jaws of the left-centre pocket before staying out. Gould's three-ball plant and a few following balls settled it.

Robertson snatched the 15th frame but could not reduce the gap further in the final one of the day.

Gould produced the best shot of either session with a swerve through the reds to come off the cushion and pot the green on his way to a break of 63 and Robertson, who slammed home a magnificent red using the rest after coming back to the table needing three snookers, gave up when an opportunistic black failed to drop.

First session report

Martin Gould put in a sensational performance in the first session of his World Championship second-round clash with Neil Robertson to take a 6-2 lead at the Crucible in Sheffield.

The world number 46 played some the best snooker of his career to which Robertson, ranked 37 places higher, had little response.

The Potter from Pinner is now on the verge of his second upset of the tournament, having seen off Marco Fu in the first round.

Victory over the world number eight in a final-frame showdown earlier in the week has clearly installed confidence in the 28-year-old from North London and against Robertson he played for everything - and more often than not sank it.

His fearless approach to the opening session saw him take a 5-0 lead as Robertson was largely left to admire his work from the comfort of his seat.

Breaks of 70, 116 and 80 saw him take a 4-0 lead before a further effort of 43 wrapped up frame five.

In frame six, a break of 53 helped Gould to a barely credible 6-0 lead as Robertson, introduced by the MC as the 'Thunder from Down Under', barely managed to trouble the scorers.

But to the credit of the Australian, his spirit remained unbroken, despite Gould's onslaught, and he staged a mini-fightback to win the final two frames of the session.

A break of 71 in frame seven before another half century (53) served to keep alive his interest in the match, although he still has it all to do in the evening session.

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