The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Team Muirhead recover from USA defeat to see off China at Winter Olympics
GB skip praises squad after extra-end victory
Great Britain’s women curlers recovered from losing their first game of the day to beat China in a thrilling clash at the Winter Olympics.
Eve Muirhead’s side were 5-3 down in the round robin contest but levelled at 7-7, taking it to an extra end at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Pyeongchang.
The Blair Atholl athlete then held her nerve with the final stone to make sure of an 8-7 success, a result which lifted them to second in the standings.
It was a vital win, having been well beaten 7-4 by the United States earlier in the day.
Speaking after the success, Muirhead hailed the mentality of her squad.
“It came down to a last stone this morning and we lost out, but that’s the job of a skip, to nail those crucial shots,” she said.
“The girls played great and we showed a lot of guts and determination. Our heads could have gone down after the USA game but we stayed positive.
“Experience helps and we are the two most experienced teams here – Betty (Chinese skip Wang Bingyu) got the bronze in Vancouver and we got it the Games after.
“If you’d said at the start of the week I’d have won two and lost one after three games then I would have taken that.
“It takes a bit of time to get used to the conditions and it’s tricky out there. We’ve adapted quickly and it showed during the end result.”
Coach Glenn Howard was disappointed with the loss to USA, but like Muirhead praised his players for how they responded.
“I was really proud of the girls, they weren’t at their best for five or six ends and it was a little scrappy,” he said.
“They hung in there and then played brilliantly at the end and that shows the sign of a good team. We still missed a few shots that we should have made.
“This team doesn’t get upset, they’ve got each other’s backs.
“They didn’t have a great game against the USA but they turned it around and it is a sign of things to come.”
The men’s team, skipped by Perth’s Kyle Smith, beat Japan 6-5 to also record their second win in three games.
Smith’s rink edged 5-4 ahead in the eighth end but Japan levelled it up in the ninth.
Britain had the hammer for the 10th end and made it tell to wrap up the win.
They had opened their campaign on Wednesday with a win over Switzerland and a defeat against Canada.