Both teams were complete for this match, and Team D having lost the toss led off playing yellow stones, playing on the middle sheet 4.
It turned out this ice was playing very slow, especially on some patches, so the whole match was characterised by draw-shots coming up short, and so building up a guddle of stones in front of the house. This was evident from the start, but I did manage to curl a draw behind that cover to score one against the hammer in end 1.
John then did much the same on end 2, and scores then went with the hammer for the rest of the match. John scored two in end 4, and I managed to draw in both shots on end 5 for a three.
As so often, the memorable stones came right at the very end, with the score at 5-4 and yellow with hammer.
By the thirds’ stones, there was the usual guddle in front, and a yellow stone counting in the house. Dougie took his own initiative to attempt a promotion on a central blue guard, and it worked well, to lay as the new guarded counter.
Both first stones from the skips hit guards and made the guddle more impenetrable, so a 5-5 draw was looking very likely.
John opted with his last stone to replicate the promotion shot on a front blue. Unfortunately, it instead hit the neighbouring yellow stone, which turned into a long, angled raise to hit that blue counter, knocking it back and leaving the two yellows counting. And that’s how it finished, a 7-4 result.
Rob.
Holyrood Curling Club 