Scotland’s men made a fine start to the World Junior Curling Championships when they won both their matches on the opening day of the event, beating Korea and the USA.
In their first match against the Koreans, James Craik, Angus Bryce, Scott Hyslop and Niall Ryder had to recover from conceding a steal of two at the opening end, but they did so immediately, scoring a two at the second end and another at the fourth to take the lead for the first time. 
They were never to fall behind again, but it remained tight until they scored a two at the ninth end to move two clear for the first time and a steal at the last wrapped up an 8-5 win.
“We had a slip up in the first end where we gave up that steal of two, but we fought straight back to win against a really strong Korean team,” said skip Craik.
“We had to show quite a lot of composure in that match. First end of your World Championship campaign and you end up losing a steal of two really isn’t quite what you want.
“However, the boys stuck by me really well and we got the deuce straight back and followed that with a really strong performance after that.
“It was really good to be tested, but also to pull through in the end.”
Their second match saw them up against a USA line-up that had, earlier in the day, beaten defending champions Canada.
The Americans won the last stone draw to claim the hammer at the first and the Scottish quartet went without it for the first six ends of the match as they out-manoeuvred their opponents at every turn.
The first end was blanked and after steals at the second and third had tilted things their way, Craik gave credit to lead Ryder for identifying the crucial opportunity to take full control after the skip had been lining up a different shot.
“In the fourth end Niall spotted a wee split (on two stones at the front of the house),” he explained.
“It had been looking like I was going to have to gamble and swing one round wide and if I didn’t make it we would maybe lose three. 
“The split was a bit more difficult, but it was a much higher reward, so we played that perfectly and ended up setting up a steal when their skip didn’t make his last.
“So that was essentially a four shot turn around which was quite key in the game.”
They then stole another two at the fifth and one more at the sixth, in setting up a near unassailable 6-0 lead and while their opponents finally got on the scoreboard at the seventh end, a three at the next took the score to 9-1, drawing the concession.
“I definitely felt we dominated that game,” said Craik.
“The ice was a little bit tricky, but we managed it really, really well and took almost every opportunity.
“We came out really sharp, piled a load of pressure on their skip and he didn’t have the answers.
“That’s a real confidence builder because we knew the USA were a strong team and they beat Canada this morning, so to walk away 9-1 after eight ends is quite a good marker and a statement’s been made that we are seriously here to play.”
Having been part of the Scotland team that claimed a bronze medal the last time the World Juniors were held in 2020, along with Ryder and then alternate Bryce, he was pleased to have got things underway very differently this time around.
“Two wins on the opening day is exactly what we want,” said Craik.
“Last time we were at the Worlds we were 0-2 down at the same point, so it’s a bit of a different feeling.
“The match against Korea shows we can be down in a game and then fight back, while tonight’s match showed that once we’re up in a game we’re really tough to chase.
“We’ve always been great front-runners and I was glad we were able to prove that.”
In their only match of the second day, Scotland will meet New Zealand who suffered two heavy defeats on the opening day, losing 14-5 to Norway and 12-1 to Korea.
Live games will be available to watch through The Curling Channel in partnership with Recast.
Scotland – Team Craik 
James Craik
Angus Bryce
Scott Hyslop
Niall Ryder
Jack Carrick
Scotland – Team Henderson
Fay Henderson
Katie McMillan
Lisa Davie
Holly Wilkie-Milne
Robyn Mitchell
Sunday 15 May (all times BST)
Scotland – Korea (men) 8-5
Scotland – Canada (women) 9-7
Scotland – USA (men) 9-1
Monday 16 May
Scotland – USA (women) – 8.00am
Scotland – New Zealand (men) – 1.00pm
Scotland – Switzerland (women) – 6.00pm
Tuesday 17 May
Scotland – Germany (men) – 8.00am
Scotland – Japan (women) – 1.00pm
Scotland – Italy (men) – 6.00pm
Wednesday 18 May
Scotland – Norway (women) – 8.00am
Scotland – Canada (men) – 1.00pm
Scotland – Latvia (women) – 6.00pm
Thursday 19 May
Scotland – Norway (men) – 8.00am
Scotland – Korea (women) – 1.00pm
Scotland – Sweden (men) – 6.00pm (Broadcast game)
Friday 20 May
Scotland – Sweden (women) – 8.00am
Scotland – Switzerland (men) – 1.00pm
Scotland – Denmark (women) - 6.00pm
Saturday 21 May
Men’s Semi Final – 1.00pm
Women’s Semi Final – 6.00pm
Sunday 22 May
Men’s Finals - 8.00am
Women’s Finals - 1.00pm
#curling #WJCC2022
