Scotland skip Rebecca Morrison hailed a complete team performance as the host nation impressively defeated Canada 8-4 in the world junior curling championships yesterday.
Morrison, the Robert Gordon University student playing on home ice at Curl Aberdeen, led by example as the Scots surged in front early, giving themselves a lead they never relinquished.
She hailed the communication between her and team-mates Hailey Duff, Amy and Leeanne McKenzie as they recorded their second victory of the tournament.
Morrison said: “Canada is always such a big game because they’re a huge curling nation. We went out there really wanting to win it.
“The first half we played really well – the team made my job really easy. It was a really good team game and communication was great.”
Scotland seized a 6-0 lead after three ends, with Morrison’s rink dominating the ice for a perfect start.
Canada, skipped by Kaitlyn Jones, got on the scoreboard in the fourth end but Morrison ensured Scotland went to the half-time break with a six-point advantage, despite a final stone that threatened to knock their scoring shot out of position.
The umpire was required to measure the closest stone to the button, with Morrison’s narrowly earning the Scots the fifth end.
Back-to-back ends for the Canadians, who won three straight titles between 2014 and 2016, reduced the deficit to four with three ends to go and a steal in the eighth created a close finale.
However, a well-placed guard in the ninth end from the Scots allowed no way back for Canada, with Jones and her team conceding before the final end to ensure an 8-4 win for the home rink.
Morrison added: “Both games on Saturday could have gone either way. Unfortunately the first one didn’t but we managed to pull the second one out.
“With two wins and one loss, it’s been a really solid start. Hopefully we can keep winning for the remainder of the week – we’d really like to make the play-off games then go from there.”
The hosts were runners-up last year in South Korea, going down 10-7 to Sweden, but Morrison has already stated her aim to try to go one better in what is a completely new setup from 2017. Only Sophie Jackson, their alternate here in Aberdeen, had experience of the world junior championships before.
They were also runner-up in 2013 and 2015, with their last triumph in the women’s event coming in 2012 in Ostersund, Sweden, with Hannah Fleming as skip.
Winter Olympic bronze medallist Eve Muirhead is the country’s most successful skip in these championships, winning in 2008, 2009 and in her home city of Perth in 2011.
Playing in front of a boisterous home support gives hope that Scotland could be involved in the medal matches come the end of the week.
The opening rubber against Norway saw the Scots 4-1 up after six ends, only to go down 7-6 thanks to three doubles in the final four ends from Maia Ramsfjell, the Norwegian skip. Morrison scored two on the penultimate end to re-establish a 6-5 lead for Scotland but Ramsfjell responded in kind to take the win for the Scandinavians.
Saturday’s second game required an extra end to decide a winner as the Scots defeated China 4-3. A single in the 10th end forced an additional decider, with Morrison delivering with the hammer.
Scotland face two winless teams in today’s round-robin fixtures, with Switzerland first up at 9am and then Turkey at 7pm.
The home rink has South Korea in their sole game tomorrow, Sweden and the United States on Wednesday and Russia in their final round-robin game on Thursday.
Morrison’s rink is involved in a five-way tie for second in the women’s standings on 2-1, with Sweden the only nation unbeaten.
The top four go to Friday’s semi-finals with the medal games on Saturday.
The men’s team started with a 2-0 record, beating Norway 8-6 on Saturday and Germany 7-2 yesterday morning. They matched their female counterparts with a closing game against Canada last night.