Leslie Ingram-Brown reports from Erzurum:GBR WOMEN IN FINAL AFTER NINE ENDS AGAINST JAPAN: WILL PLAY RUSSIA IN GOLD MEDAL GAME
A word for poor Korea. They got off to a nightmare of a start and lost a 5 in the second end and as the linescore shows never got back into the game being overpowered by a Russian team skipped by Liudmilla Privivkova. At 10-1 down, is there not a case for a sympathetic view for stopping a game? But is was being televised and the rules are eight ends. Full marks they kept going but it was just one of those games and after eight ends it was welcome relief to shake hands 13-1.
For GBR Women it was a much tighter game until the ninth end which pushed Anna Sloan and her team into the final to-morrow morning 09:00 local time (07.00 in Scotland).
The game opened with an exchange of 2 shots over the first two end and then singles over the third and fourth ends but the good news was that the GBR Women seemed to be dominating and in control and in the fifth when Anna draws for 2 there is a 5-3 lead at the break.
Sixth end and Yoshimura draws for a single and in the seventh, Japan's best end, Lauren was unlucky with a pick on her first stone but was tight and caught a guard with her second. Advantage Japan and Yoshimura, after a good draw by Anna with her first which was tapped out by the Japanese skip to lie three shots. Anna opts for the draw which is good and it is a very valuable 1 to GBR and a lead 6-4. Eighth was blanked.
In the ninth the front end did its job with good draws and hits and rolls that GBR lie 4 as Anna goes for a draw with her first stone but instead finishes short and as a potentially serious guard available to Japan but Yoshimura is heavy and slides out the back. Anna draws to lie 5 at the front of the house and for the second time the Japanese skip is heavy and the GBR Women are in the final.
After the game Anna agreed that the team were in total control of the game and on the ninth end said, "It really was not a perfect end but we played it really well and we were more fortunate than a perfect end."
TEAMS
Japan: Sayaka Yoshimura, Rina Ida, Risa Ujihara, Mao Ishigaki
Great Britain: Anna Sloan, Lauren Gray, Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton
SCORELINE
jpn 02010 1000X = 4
gbr* 20102 0105X = 11
rus* 05230 021XX = 13
kor: 00001 000XX = 1
Top photo Team GBR L-R: Lauren Gray, Claire Hamilton, Vicki Adams and Anna Sloan.
Anna Sloan and Sayaka Yoshimura
Liudmila Privivkova and Ji Sun Kim.Photos courtesy of Leslie Ingram-Brown.
