Scotland’s men’s curling team advances to European final, while women secure bronze

Bruce Mouat’s Scottish curling team is one match away from securing a fifth European title. The 2024 European Curling Championships are being held in Lohja, Finland, from November 16-23. Coverage: Selected matches can be viewed on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Scotland is guaranteed to return from the European Championships in Finland with two sets of medals, after the women’s team defeated Italy to claim bronze. The men’s team is scheduled to compete against Germany in Saturday’s final and is widely considered the favourite to defend their title. The gold medal match, set for 13:00 GMT, will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer, as well as the BBC Sport website and app. Under the leadership of skip Rebecca Morrison, the Scottish women’s team established a 6-1 lead against Italy by scoring three points in the seventh end, ultimately securing a comfortable 6-4 victory. This achievement concludes a successful week for Morrison, Jen Dodds, Sophie Sinclair, and Sophie Jackson, who had previously finished third in the round-robin stage and narrowly lost a tight semi-final match to Sweden. “We felt really in control from the start of the game as we had a great handle of the ice from the first end,” stated Jackson, who plays lead and calls the shots for the team. She added, “We knew if we kept sticking to our processes and piling the pressure on the Italians that was all that we could do.” The Scottish men’s team has largely experienced an untroubled progression in Lohja, though they were required to recover from a late setback during their semi-final match against Switzerland. Bruce Mouat’s team held an 8-5 lead entering the tenth end, but an unusual error by the skip enabled the Swiss opponents to equalize the score. Nevertheless, the Scottish contingent regrouped and ultimately triumphed 10-8 following an extra end. Germany, who had previously been defeated 12-5 by Scotland in the round-robin stage on Wednesday, secured an 8-2 victory over Norway in just eight ends. Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and Hammy McMillan, who suffered only one loss during the round-robin, are seeking to prolong a remarkable streak of having won the last four European Championships they have participated in. Mouat commented, “It’s actually a bit surreal, thinking back to when I was a young kid watching the Europeans and now we’re in our fifth time at this event and our fifth final.” He added, “We’re really looking forward to getting on the ice again and giving it all we’ve got.” In the women’s final, Sweden will compete against the defending champions, Switzerland.