England continued to compete well to stay in contention for a play-off spot at the World Wheelchair B Championships in Finland in spite of losing a hard fought battle to Japan in their second match of the day.
Stewart Pimblett, George Potts, Julian Mattison, Karen Aspey and Jason Kean were looking to consolidate second position in the standings as they went into that match after a comprehensive 12-0 defeat of Hong Kong China earlier in the day and no quarter was given with neither side managing to score more than a single until the final end.
While they went into that decisive end at 3-2 down, the Japanese had last stone advantage and managed to make it count to run out 5-2 winners. 
“They worked hard in the second game and the score-line perhaps does not reflect the game because it came down to the last stone in the end,” said British Curling Head Paralympic Coach Sheila Swan.
“Stewart made a good freeze attempt with his first stone but his second shot went too deep, so it was close and could have gone to an extra end but just didn’t quite make it.”
It was their second defeat in six matches, following an extra end loss to Switzerland the previous day, but their fate is still in their own hands and Swan is hoping that will help concentrate minds for their remaining four matches as they continue their bid to claim a top three finish that would earn them a place at this season’s World Championships in Scotland.
"This is a very capable side so it was disappointing to lose in a tight game like that and two wins today would have certainly made it a little more comfortable in the standings,” she said.
“We can’t take any games for granted this week and need to keep adding to the win tally to make the knockout stages."
“Tomorrow we play Thailand and then unbeaten Czechia, so we just need to make sure we maintain focus on our tactics and ensure we continue to do well in our draw shot challenge because everything will count when we get to the business end of the week.”
England Team
Stewart Pimblett
George Potts
Julian Mattison
Karen Aspey
Jason Kean
Tony Lenton – England Coach
Rosemary Lenton – England Assistant Coach
Sheila Swan – British Curling Paralympic Head Coach
Results:
Day One
England – Poland 10-1
England – Finland 7-4
Day Two
England – Switzerland L/W
England – USA 6-3
Day Three
England – Hong Kong – China 12-0
England – Japan 2-5
Day Four
England – Thailand
England – Czechia
Day Five
England – Spain
England – Estonia
Day Six
Semi Final
Finals
Please click here for results.
Image: PPA/Graeme Hart
