Scotland face Sweden in European final

The hosts thrashed Russia 9-3 in their semi-final while Scotland edged out last year’s silver medallists Switzerland 3-2 after an extra end.

Russia took a single point in the first end, but Sweden went ahead after the second end and extended their lead with a steal in the third.

After the break Sweden held a lead of 3-2 but it was in eighth end when they secured their place in the final scoring five points to put them into the gold medal final for the fourth year in a row. “We came out firing from the start,” skip Anna Hasselborg said. “I felt the whole week that we had this game in us, we haven’t just put it out there.

“We love the play-offs and we put it out today. I’m very, very proud of the team’s performance.”

The other semi-final saw a tight encounter between Switzerland and Scotland which saw Team Muirhead triumph after an extra end.

Switzerland were the first to score with one point after the second end while Scotland levelled in the fourth.

The Scots took the lead in the ninth end but Switzerland were able to draw in the tenth to secure the extra end.

It all came down to the final draw and skip Eve Muirhead did enough to see her team progress through to the final.

“That game was 100% a game of patience,” said Muirhead. “When we were level playing the eighth end we said, ‘let’s go really hard for a steal here’ and that’s exactly what we did.

“I think the eighth end was the turning point. Sweden is going to be a different game, it’ll be tough. It’ll be a big battle and we’re going to have to dig deep.”

Sportsbeat 2019