Scotland’s women reckoned they took crucial lessons from their first defeat in the round-robin section of the Le Gruyere AOL European Curling Championships and immediately implemented them to register a bounce back win that keeps them top of the standings and close to qualification for the play-off stages.
Skip Eve Muirhead had admitted to some frustration with the way she and teammates Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds and Hailey Duff had performed in their morning meeting with Italy, but she felt that they were already responding to the mistakes they had made before that match was over and then showed what they were made of in the day’s second match against the Czech Republic.
“Obviously this morning wasn’t what we wanted, but I think we took a lot from that game when we came back really strongly in the second half and we took that into that game there,” said the two-time European champion. 
“Our stone placement was much better. This morning we were just on the wrong side of the inch a lot of the time and out here at this level you can’t do that and we learned a lot from that.
“We really did come out firing from the very first end and all I can say is that I’m proud of the girls. To play under this pressure and to manage to bounce back in games like that is pretty crucial and I think it just shows our determination and that we’re here to compete.”
In the short term they know that a win in either of their remaining matches over the next two days will be sufficient to guarantee them a place in the semis.
“That game was important, because it’s close to giving us qualification and I think it’s also important for our team’s momentum,” said Muirhead.
However, they have also been keen to put down a marker ahead of next month’s Olympic Qualifying Event in the Netherlands, which represents their last chance to earn Team GB a place in the women’s event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year.
“The big one’s next month at the OQE and a few of these teams are going to be there, so it gives us a lot of good positive things to take going into that,” Muirhead observed.
The Scots face reigning world champions Switzerland in their only match on day five tomorrow.
Scotland Team 
Eve Muirhead
Vicky Wright
Jen Dodds
Hailey Duff
Mili Smith
#curling #ECC2021
PHOTOS: WCF / CELINE STUCKI & STEVE SEIXEIRO
Schedule and Results
Saturday 20 November
W Scotland v Russia 7-4
M Scotland v Sweden 6-2
W Scotland v Denmark 8-2
Sunday 21 November
M Scotland v Finland 6-2
W Scotland v Sweden 8-5
M Scotland v Italy 10-5
Monday 22 November
W Scotland v Germany 9-5
M Scotland v Netherlands 9-2
W Scotland v Estonia 10-3
M Scotland v Germany 10-5
Tuesday 23 November
W Scotland v Italy 7-8
M Scotland v Denmark 9-8
W Scotland v Czech Republic 9-1 
Wednesday 24 November
M Scotland v Switzerland 8am
W Scotland v Switzerland 1pm
M Scotland v Czech Republic 6pm
Thursday 25 November
W Scotland v Turkey 7am
M Scotland v Norway 11am
W Semi Final 2 v 3 3pm
W Semi Final 1 v 4 7pm
Friday 26 November
M Semi Final 2 v 3 8am
M Semi Final 1 v 4 12.30pm
W Bronze medal game 5pm
Saturday 27 November
M Bronze medal game 8am
W Gold medal game 11.30am
M Gold medal game 4pm
