"The comeback is on.' Britannia scores first points of America's Cup final, trails New Zealand 4-2

BARCELONA, Spain — INEOS Britannia got back into the America's Cup final after scoring its first two wins over Emirates Team New Zealand, cutting the deficit in the first-to-seven wins to 4-2 on Wednesday.

The British capitalized on uncharacteristic mistakes by the Kiwis, who gifted their rivals a huge lead before Race 5 even started and then suffered another slip that hurt their chances of catching Britannia on a close Race 6.

“There is still a long way to go, but the comeback is on,” Britannia skipper Ben Ainslie said.

The British have never won the America’s Cup in its 173-year history and are in their first final in six decades. New Zealand is trying to win the Auld Mug, the oldest trophy in international sport, for a third straight time and fifth overall.

New Zealand had sailed flawlessly to sweep the first four races held in view of the Barcelona beachfront. But the Kiwis couldn't handle the low winds and high waves and made their first error of the series when their yacht fell off its foils during a turn in the pre-start buildup.

The Taihoro was left flailing while Britannia buzzed it twice before taking off to build a huge advantage. When Britannia crossed the line New Zealand was almost 1,200 meters behind.

The British followed that up with a second victory that will surely be a bigger boost to their confidence. The Kiwis were closing when a dip of the hull into the water cost them valuable time in a contest that was decided by just seven seconds.

“You make a few little mistakes and you lose races," New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said. "That’s what we love about sport, and we also have a battle on our hands.”

The British appear to have made some improvements on Tuesday, a rest day they used to practice while the Kiwis stayed at the base.

“There is definitely more to come. We had a great day yesterday, getting out there and just kind of throwing it all around,” Britannia trimmer Leigh McMillan said. “Emirates Team New Zealand have certainly set the bar pretty high. We are just going to keep the pressure on and keep the momentum going."

Races 7 and 8 are scheduled for Friday, giving New Zealand one day to figure out what went wrong.

“We didn’t really executed our best today, so we let ourselves down," ETNZ helmsman Nathan Outteridge said. "We will go and review that tonight and come back in better shape. It’s all good here, we just have to execute better.”