Scotland skip Bruce Mouat believes that his rink's final-stone win over world champions Sweden is the perfect way to reignite their World Men's Curling Championships challenge.
Team Mouat, who later went on to beat South Korea, had lost three of their opening four matches in the round robin stages at the Canada competition, putting them in a precarious position as they look to better the bronze they took at last year’s championships.
But, facing a tough Swedish rink who were yet to drop a match from their opening fixtures, the Scottish quartet dug in, keeping pace with their opponents in what was a tightly-fought contest of high quality curling.
“That was a big win,” said reigning European champion Mouat.
“We’ve been playing well and just been on the wrong side of those losses [against Switzerland, the Netherlands andthe United States]. Now we’re back in the running. Hopefully, it’s turned a new page."
Trading points tit-for-tat in the opening five ends, Team Mouat claimed a valuable point with the Swedes on the hammer in the sixth, before a two-point ninth drew the reigning champions level at 5-5.
But Mouat topped off a captain’s display as he sealed the winning point with a clutch final stone to cap a vital win.
And the Scottish four backed up the result with a commanding 7-3 triumph over South Korea.
Two points in the third, fifth and eighth ends opened up a four-point lead over their opponents, leading to the forfeiture of the contest and Scotland’s third win from six matches.
They sit seventh, just behind the United States, with five matches still to play in the round robin stage, with the top six finishers qualifying for the knockouts.
Sportsbeat 2019