Defending men’s champions Scotland got back to winning ways against Germany and the Czech Republic to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the European Curling Championships.
Having suffered their first loss of the tournament against Italy on Tuesday, Scotland enjoyed a two-win day by defeating Germany 12-5 then sweeping aside the Czech Republic 10-2.
In the women’s competition Scotland made it four wins in a row thanks to a 9-5 success against Italy, who have already qualified for the last four.
The victory followed comfortable successes over Hungary, Estonia and Lithuania and means if Rebecca Morrison’s rink defeat Norway – who could still qualify – on Thursday they will emulate the men by reaching the semi-finals.
“We put another really solid performance together, which we are really pleased with,” said Scotland’s Sophie Jackson.
“Unfortunately their skip had to leave the game due to a medical reason [a nose bleed], which caused a bit of disruption to the game.
“It was really important for us to maintain focus throughout those moments of disruption and see the game through after building such a good lead in the first half.”
Bruce Mouat’s side returned to the top of their standings heading into the final day of round-robin play, when they face Sweden on Thursday (12:00) – with the match live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan reasserted themselves in commanding fashion against in-form Germany before demolishing the Czech Republic in just six ends.
“We knew we had to bounce back after the Italy game and the Germans have been playing really well all season, not just at this tournament, so we knew we had to come out and perform,” said skip Mouat.
“The ice conditions were a little bit tricky this morning and I think we got on top of it a wee bit quicker than they did, which helped us get the early jump on them.
“It was a good game to see it out after that and we’re very happy with that.
“We carried that momentum through against the Czech Republic and it was really nice to get the ‘Q’ next to your name going into the game on Thursday.”
The Scots will head into the play-offs aiming to extend an extraordinary sequence in which they have won the past four European Championships they have played in.
If they finish top of the standings, they would earn last-stone advantage in the play-offs – but face Sweden’s seven-time European, seven-time world and reigning Olympic champions, who need to win to secure their play-off place.
“It will be a tough game against the Swedes and we’ll need to play well to get that top spot and guarantee hammer in the semi-final,” Mouat added.
