06-04-2019, 22:42
SCO is correct, in that if you have a lead going into the last end, it is best to keep taking out the opposition stones until you run them out of stones. If it's only a 1 shot lead and you have the hammer, keep the front as clear as possible, so that you can draw the shot or do a simple take-out with your last stone. If you don't have the hammer, it becomes much more tactical and open to a big end, if you can tempt the opposition into a tricky shot. Snooty is right also about making blank ends when you have the hammer, so that you keep the hammer rather than taking 1 shot. I've seen games won by 3-2 with the skips with the hammer deliberately blanking ends in order to keep the hammer. You should always be looking for 2 or 3 shots with the hammer and keep the opposition down to 1 shot when they have the hammer. All the skips can probably draw into the 4-foot circle 9 times out of 10, but a bit of pressure can change all that. Hope that helps.
Anyway, Scotland got stuck into Germany early on, winning fairly comfortably by 9-2, while Italy lost to Sweden by 4-7. In the final game, Scotland did exactly what was needed, beating Italy 9-5, after being tied at 5-5 after 7 ends. This brought Scotland into 6th place at Italy's expense. Sweden finished clear at the top with 11 wins, with Switzerland in 2nd on 9 wins. Also on 9 wins were Canada and Japan, followed by USA and Scotland on 8 wins.
This morning's Qualification games were Canada v Scotland, where the Scots just fell short, losing 5-6 with Bruce Mouat just failing with a double take-out to score 2 shots to force an extra end, and Japan v USA where Japan won 7-6 after an extra end, with the Japanese skip drawing into the 4-foot circle with the last stone for victory.
Tonight's Semi-finals are Sweden v Japan and Switzerland v Canada and the Medal Games will be contested tomorrow. I'll not be back until Monday night with the results.
In my final take on Scotland's fortunes, they played very well with some results narrowly going against them. Of their 4 round-robin defeats, 3 were by 1 shot and the other was by 2 shots. Not outplayed by any means.
Anyway, Scotland got stuck into Germany early on, winning fairly comfortably by 9-2, while Italy lost to Sweden by 4-7. In the final game, Scotland did exactly what was needed, beating Italy 9-5, after being tied at 5-5 after 7 ends. This brought Scotland into 6th place at Italy's expense. Sweden finished clear at the top with 11 wins, with Switzerland in 2nd on 9 wins. Also on 9 wins were Canada and Japan, followed by USA and Scotland on 8 wins.
This morning's Qualification games were Canada v Scotland, where the Scots just fell short, losing 5-6 with Bruce Mouat just failing with a double take-out to score 2 shots to force an extra end, and Japan v USA where Japan won 7-6 after an extra end, with the Japanese skip drawing into the 4-foot circle with the last stone for victory.
Tonight's Semi-finals are Sweden v Japan and Switzerland v Canada and the Medal Games will be contested tomorrow. I'll not be back until Monday night with the results.
In my final take on Scotland's fortunes, they played very well with some results narrowly going against them. Of their 4 round-robin defeats, 3 were by 1 shot and the other was by 2 shots. Not outplayed by any means.
Cabbage is still good for you