Curling: Worlds blow for Eve

Play-off agony for Muirhead

Perthshire Olympic curling team leaders Eve Muirhead and Kyle Smith were denied the chance to represent Scotland at the World Championships in Canada after losing play-offs at the Dewars Centre.

Scottish champion Hannah Fleming, from Lockerbie, added a nail-biting 9-7 victory to Saturday evening’s 9-6 win and will now carry Scottish hopes in the women’s event at North Bay, Ontario.

Smith took men’s champion Bruce Mouat to a deciding match in their bestof-three play-off but lost 9-3 last night to miss out on the men’s event in Las Vegas later this month.

Muirhead and team-mates Lauren Gray, Vicki Adams and Anna Sloan still appeared to be suffering from an Olympic hangover following their agonising fourth place finish in South Korea, yet they pushed Fleming to the very last stone after trailing 7-3.

Having cut the deficit to 8-7, Muirhead had two stones in the house at the last end, but Fleming held her nerve and clinched victory with her final delivery.

“The feeling is unbelievable,” said Fleming. “Going to the World Championships means absolutely everything and we’ve worked so hard to achieve this.”

Muirhead added: “We came close but didn’t quite finish it off, and that’s happened a few times in the past week or so.

“Hannah and her team fully deserved to win and we wish them all the best over in Canada.

“It’s been a tough week for us. The Olympics takes a lot out of you and finishing fourth is the worst place. It’s heart-breaking.

“It’s been a long couple of months, so we’re definitely going to take some time off now.”

Mouat looked set to wrap things up in the men’s play-off when he led 6-3 in game two yesterday morning, but Smith counted three at the ninth end and a single at the last to win 7-6.

It was all to play for last night, and Mouat seized control with threes at the fifth and seventh ends before Smith shook hands when trailing 9-3.

“Of course we’re disappointed,” admitted Smith. “We still had a chance after (winning) this morning, but sadly they were just too good for us tonight.

“We were really up against it and gambled at the fifth end, but Bruce made a good shot for a three and it was always going to be a long way back from that.

“The future looks bright for Scottish curling.”