WORLD WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONSHIPS
There was bitter disappointment in the Scottish camp after a disappointing loss to traditional rivals Canada on day four of the World Wheelchair Championships in Vancouver, but also a determination to put things right as they head into the closing stages of the round-robin competition.
The quartet of Gregor Ewan, Hugh Nibloe, Gary Logan and Jo Butterfield had begun the day well with an authoritative 6-2 win over Japan that had kept them well placed to make the play-offs, but it was the manner of the 8-1 loss to the hosts that upset them more than anything else.
“That was a tough one,” said Butterfield, who is making her World Championship debut, but has been playing regularly with her teammates throughout this season.
“We started off the day with Japan and it went really well. It felt like we continued where we left off the day before, very much in synch, working together and we were making shots, so we were in control of the match from the start.
“The scoreboard maybe didn’t reflect it, but we were winning every end, making all our shots, which is why we were in control.
“We were confident, we were strong and it felt really good, but the second game was a totally different story.”
She acknowledged that facing the team that currently tops the rankings, with just a solitary defeat, was always going to be a different proposition, but reckoned that the Scots had collectively “let ourselves down” in the way they confronted that challenge.
“Canada was always going to be a tough one and we knew that,” said Butterfield.
“They’ve been having a great week, playing really well, getting some good results.
“Maybe we showed them too much respect and were a bit scared. I don’t know what it was, but we really struggled to get into the game, made too many misses.
“At ends two and three in particular we missed shot after shot and just got ourselves in a big hole.
“They took a couple of big ends and made it almost impossible for us to dig ourselves out.
“We did dig deep and put in a better performance in the last three ends, but we were too far behind for it to make much difference.
“It is a hard one. Credit to Canada, they put up a good show and we’ve learned some lessons.
Awarded an MBE for her services to sport after winning Paralympic gold in athletics before switching to curling two years ago, Butterfield has a strong sense of what is now required and believes that is reflected in the attitude across the team as they seek to keep their medal hopes alive.
“We’ve got two games (against Norway and China) that we will very much be looking to win and it’s doable,” said Butterfield
“We are a strong, resilient team. Even when we were struggling out there today we remained a team, which is good to know, because we’ve struggled with that in the past, but we had each other’s backs and were really trying to get the best out of one another, even when it was hard.
“That’s the one positive I want to take away from it and we go again with a point to prove, needing to show that we’re better than that, that we can play better and that’s what we’re all going to try to do.”