Scotland’s women claimed a bronze medal at the Le Gruyere European Championships after a controlled performance saw them claim a deserved 6-4 win over last year’s finalists Italy.
Rebecca Morrison, Jen Dodds, Sophie Sinclair and Sophie Jackson went into the match knowing they were in top form, the five match winning run in the round-robin which took them into the medal matches before all four of them statistically outplayed their opposite numbers in the semi-final, only for 2018 Olympic winning skip Anna Hasselborg to snatch victory for her team at the final end.
The nature of that defeat could have threatened their morale, but they demonstrated their resolve superbly in the third place play-off, taking the initiative from the off. 
Starting with the hammer, having finished above the Italians in the round-robin, they were forced to take a single at the opening end, but even there they demonstrated how well they were playing with every shot executed perfectly.
They then turned up the pressure over the next three ends and it took its toll as the Italians were forced to accept a blank at the second when they would have been looking to score on the even ends, but then miscued with attempted takeouts at the next two to concede steals and leave the Scots 3-0 up.
Italy finally got off the mark at the last end before the midway break, but after a blanked sixth, the Scots took full control when Morrison’s double takeout secured them a three and put them 6-1 clear.
Scoreboard management then saw them allow the Italians to score two at the eighth before a blanked ninth end left a straightforward job of ensuring there were no mistakes as they wrapped up the win.
“We felt really in control from the start of the game as we had a great handle of the ice from the first end,” said Jackson, who plays lead and calls the shots for the team.
“We knew if we kept sticking to our processes and piling the pressure on the Italians that was all that we could do.
“We have a great belief and confidence as a collective right now and this championship has really helped cement that. 
“Hopefully we can continue to build on this form for the rest of the season, at tour events and championships.”
Reflecting on the event as a whole Jackson, who along with Morrison and Sinclair had won a bronze medal on their debuts at this event, whilst Dodds was part of the team that won gold the previous year, drew particular satisfaction from the way they had responded to adversity early in the event.
“I’m really proud of the whole team’s resilience at this championship,” she said.
“We could easily have let our heads go down after going 1-3 at the start of the week.
“To go undefeated in the last five games of the round robin is something to be proud of.”
Scotland’s men now look to win their fifth title and their fourth in succession when they meet Germany in the gold medal match tomorrow lunchtime (1300hrs GMT).
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Scotland’s GOLD Medal game will be broadcast on BBC Scotland and will also be live streamed on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Scotland website.
Watch on BBC iPlayer
Watch on BBC Sport Scotland website.
Scotland Schedule:
Saturday 16 November
Session 1 – women
Scotland – Sweden 5-8
Session 1 – men
Scotland – Netherlands 8-6
Session 2 – women
Scotland – Denmark 11-9 (EE)
Sunday 17 November
Session 2 – men
Scotland – Norway 6-5
Session 3 – women
Scotland – Switzerland 1-8
Session 3 – men
Scotland – England 8-1
Monday 18 November
Session 4 – women
Scotland – Turkiye 4-5
Session 4 – men
Scotland – Switzerland 7-6
Session 5 – women
Scotland – Hungary 9-3
Session 5 – men
Scotland – Austria 10-2
Tuesday 19 November
Session 6 – women
Scotland – Estonia 8-1
Session 6 – men
Scotland – Italy 7-10
Session 7 – women
Scotland – Lithuania 9-2
Wednesday 20 November
Session 7 – men
Scotland – Germany 12-5
Session 8 – women
Scotland – Italy 9-5
Session 8 – men
Scotland – Czechia 10-2
Thursday 21 November
Session 9 – women
Scotland – Norway 5-4
Session 9 – men
Scotland – Sweden 11-7
Semi Finals – women
Scotland – Sweden 4-6
Switzerland – Italy 7-3
Friday 22 November
Semi Finals – men
Scotland – Switzerland 10-8 (EE)
Germany – Norway 8-2
Bronze medal game – women
Scotland – Italy 6-4
Bronze medal game – men – 17.00
Switzerland - Norway
Saturday 23 November
Gold medal game – women – 08.00
Switzerland - Sweden
GOLD medal game – men – 13.00
Scotland – Germany
Image: World Curling
