Muirhead releived to open up World Championships with win
BySportsbeat
Updated 18/03/2017 at 16:12 GMT
Skip Eve Muirhead is hoping for a far smoother ride from here on out at the World Women's Curling Championships after a thrilling opening victory over USA in Beijing, China.
Scotland's Eve Muirhead
Image credit: Reuters
Scotland started strongly and led 3-0 after the first end, only to find themselves level at 3-3 after the fourth.
The Scots replied with three more shots in the fifth end but again they were pegged back to 6-6 after the seventh.
USA then took the lead for the first time in the eighth, scoring two points to go 8-6 up when Muirhead’s final draw just rubbed a guard.
Muirhead was facing four USA counters when she played her last of the ninth but got inside them all to score one and reduce USA's lead to 8-7.
And in the tenth, American Nina Roth could not remove a partly-frozen Scottish stone and gave up a single steal to level the score at 8-8 and force the extra end.
Another set-up of two Scottish stones clustered together in the four-foot ring in the extra end meant that Roth could only remove one, leaving the other untouched to give Scotland the single steal that rescued the game for them.
"Wow, what a game! We never have an easy one in the first game," Muirhead said.
"We made it hard for ourselves – we were three up twice in the game and we let America come back.
"Stealing a game always feels nice. Obviously, it’s never nice for the opposition skip but for us to get our first win on the board is crucial.
"It's always good to get the first game out of the way. There's always the first nerves and for Lauren it's her first World Championship playing.
"You're always a bit anxious when you come back to the World Championship because it’s a big stage.
"For us to get the first win out of the way will calm things down now. I've got a handle on the ice and I'm really pleased that we managed to scrape a win."
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