Rebecca Morrison picked the perfect line to keep her team in contention for a semi-final spot, but a fraction too much weight on her final delivery saw it bounce off the Norwegian shot stone to end the host nation's bid for a medal in the women's event at the Le Gruyere AOP European Curling Championships.
It was all the more painful for the Scottish skip who was playing in front of friends and family at the venue where she was introduced to the sport as an eight-year-old and had hoped to at least match her medal winning performance of a year ago, only to miss out on the play-offs by the narrowest of margins.
They had gone into the meeting with Norway knowing that the winners would be assured of a semi-final spot, while even in defeat the Scots might also have squeezed through had Sweden lost their final round-robin match to Turkiye, but in the end both results went the wrong way for the home team.
The meeting with Norway was a topsy-turvy affair with both teams creating opportunities throughout, but ultimately it came down to that one final stone. 
"It was a really tough shot, but I was just determined to give it my all," said the Scottish skip.
"I gave it a shot, but just played a little too much weight at it, which is something that can creep in when you've got all those nerves building up inside you, but that's a learning loop for us.
"It felt very tight all the way through the game.
"We didn't start off our strongest, but then we managed to come on to our game and get a steal of three in the fourth end.
"That felt brilliant and we felt really positive after that, but then they came straight back with a three and it was one of those games that was going back and forth... a bit of a roller-coaster.
"It was a tough game, but well fought.
"I felt that nerves could have come into it a bit for both sides. Personally, I didn't feel it until the later stages, but that 10th end was definitely very nerve-wracking because the further the game goes on the more nerve-wracking it does get, but I'm sure with a bit more experience we'll deal with those situations a lot better."
With Olympic champion Jen Dodds having joined the established quartet of Morrison, Gina Aitken, Sophie Sinclair and Sophie Jackson this season, they finished on the same record of five wins and four losses that was enough to get them through a year ago when they went on to claim a bronze medal on their debut at the Euros.
However, Morrison reckoned that they had demonstrated considerable advancement in the year in between.
"You know coming into the week that a five and four record could make it and it might not, so it's just one of those things that you know you have to get the six wins to be guaranteed and we just didn't," she said.
"The thing is, whilst we haven't medalled, we've made huge improvements from last year and I'd say it's a much better team out on the ice than it was last year, so I'm really proud of the team's performance and we'll look forward to the rest of the season and hopefully the World Championships."
She also re-stated her belief in the innovative approach her team is taking this season, with all five players regularly taking to the ice during tournaments which represents a change to the conventional approach of having a settled quartet and inviting a player from another team to help them out as alternate for major championships. 
"Every player out there deserves to be on the ice, so I'm glad we've done what we've done this week," said Morrison.
"The people on the bench are still working hard throughout every game and having the same five players through the season means we don't have someone new coming in as an alternate and having to learn our processes, we just know each other inside out.
"In terms of results and the team's performance I'm super-proud of the team and really glad to see how far we've come since last year."
She also took enormous pride in the staging of the championships at a venue she knows so well.
""I would have loved to have made the fans proud, that's for sure, so I guess that did add to the pressure, but it also really spurs you on when you've got your fans in the crowd, so it's a mixture, but Curl Aberdeen is like home to me so this is really special," she said.
"I'm so pleased that I got to play in a European Championships here.
"Curl Aberdeen has put on such an amazing event. It looks just like we're in an arena, which is fabulous.
"The ice conditions have been brilliant, so we couldn't have asked for much more from the event."
The top eight men’s and women’s teams at these Championships, which take place from November 18-25 will qualify for the World Championships later this season.
The BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship 2024 will be hosted in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada in March 2024 and the LGT World Men’s Curling Championship 2024 will take place in Schaffhausen, Switzerland in April 2024.
Games will be broadcast on Recast available on The Curling Channel
The following games will be available on the BBC Sport website, app and BBC iPlayer
Play-offs and medal matches - TBC.
Scotland Schedule:
Saturday 18 November
Women’s Round Robin Session 1
Scotland v Turkiye 8-4
Men’s Round Robin Session 1
Scotland v Norway 5-3
Women’s Round Robin Session 2
Scotland v Denmark 9-11
Sunday 19 November
Men’s Round Robin Session 2
Scotland v Sweden 5-8
Women’s Round Robin Session 3
Scotland v Italy 6-7
Men’s Round Robin Session 3
Scotland v Czechia 6-5
Monday 20 November
Women’s Round Robin Session 4
Scotland v Czechia 8-1
Men’s Round Robin Session 4
Scotland v Switzerland 9-6
Women’s Round Robin Session 5
Scotland v Sweden 9-7
Men’s Round Robin Session 5
Scotland v Germany 8-2
Tuesday 21 November
Women’s Round Robin Session 6
Scotland v Germany 5-3
Men’s Round Robin Session 6
Scotland v Italy 6-7
Women’s Round Robin Session 7
Scotland v Switzerland 2-5
Wednesday 22 November
Men’s Round Robin Session 7
Scotland v Netherlands 9-4
Women’s Round Robin Session 8
Scotland v Estonia 6-4
Men’s Round Robin Session 8
Scotland v Turkiye 10-3
Thursday 23 November
Women’s Round Robin Session 9
Scotland v Norway 7-9
Men’s Round Robin Session 9 – 14.00
Scotland v Finland
Women’s Semi Finals – 19.00
Friday 24 November
Men’s Semi Finals – 09.00
Women’s Bronze Medal Game – 14.00
Men’s Bronze Medal Game – 19.00
Saturday 25 November
Women’s Gold Medal Game – 09.00
Men’s Gold Medal Game – 14.00
Scotland Women
Rebecca Morrison
Jennifer Dodds
Gina Aitken
Sophie Jackson
Sophie Sinclair
Coach: Ross Paterson
Scotland Men
Bruce Mouat
Grant Hardie
Bobby Lammie
Hammy McMillan
Kyle Waddell
Coach: Michael Goodfellow
#curling #ECC2023
Image: WCF
