We can go one better at Olympics
Kyle Smith Team Smith proved they are a force to be reckoned with by winning silver at the European Curling Championships.
Guildtown skip Kyle Smith, Cammy Smith, Thomas Muirhead and Kyle Waddell pushed eventual winners Team Edin of Sweden all the way.
The 10-5 defeat in St Gallen, Switzerland has given the team greater determination to nail down success at next year’s Winter Olympics.
“It’s been a good week and obviously this is a good stepping stone to PyeongChang but just now it feels a bit raw as I really felt that we could have taken that crown and title,”said former Perth Academy pupil Kyle.
“The boys played tremendously and I want to thank all of them and the coaching staff for everything during this week.
“I am just very disappointed with the result to be honest. With my last stone I was trying to focus on the weight the boys wanted me to play and I was just too heavy and that could have taken the game to an extra end.
“Missing that draw at the last
was tough and Team Edin are a great team but I really thought we had them.
“I am delighted with the boys, they really couldn’t have played better. Now I need to reset and re-focus and this has made me even more determined heading towards PyeongChang.”
Viktor Kjell, Team Smith’s coach, was proud of the performance and said:“I really thought the boys had them.
“We had a shaky start at the first end but after that we settled and we forced Niklas Edin to start making mistakes which is really something given his calibre and experience.
“The boys showed a lot of spirit and tenacity and I thought we were the much better team over the last six ends.
“But when you are playing a team like Edin they are always going to be tough to eliminate and they played a strong tenth end and we were a little heavy with that last draw.
“It is disappointing but the boys have had a great tournament and have showed what they are capable of under pressure.
“They have handled their first European final with a lot of class and I think that is great for PyeongChang and beyond that too.
“They will be very disappointed but in a few days time they will see the many positives and realise how much they have learnt from this process and that will be hugely beneficial for South Korea next year.”
Winning Team Edin skip Niklas Edin was full of praise for Team Smith and admitted they are very much on his radar for the Winter Olympics next year.
“They are a great team and always tough to play,”Niklas said.
“The first end obviously didn’t go to plan, it was a weird situation as they then had to start playing more offensively to make the shots and we had to try and keep our lead whereas we had intended to keep it a close, simple game.
“They completely outplayed us in the middle of the game and we had to fight to stay in it. It was not a great way to end that game - that team is always capable of making those last draws, but it was not to be.
“Now our focus is on the Olympics and we know we will meet Team Smith and they are good enough and smart enough to beat anyone at the Olympics.
“We know they are going to be tough to beat.”