Fine margins once more for ParalympicsGB in the mixed team wheelchair curling

It was fine margins once again that defined ParalympicsGB’s efforts in the mixed team wheelchair curling as they fell to defeat on the last stone.

The British mixed team lost 7-6 to South Korea, having experienced a similarly tight defeat to Canada on Sunday, which saw them in contention to the final end.

The four of Austin McKenzie, Stewart Pimblett, Karen Aspey and Graeme Stewart had faced adversity after skip Hugh Nibloe had to be replaced by alternate Stewart after end three.

But they remained competitive throughout with one stone proving the difference between defeat and victory.

“It’s a tough one. We changed the line-up quite quickly, so we had to go in adjust to that, adapt and change roles,” said McKenzie.

“That last end, I thought we were in the game most of it, controlled a lot of the ends. That last rock, it’s all in one throw, the game is totally different if that connects, they can only possibly score one and we’re in the extra end with hammer.

“Likewise, in the game against Canada it got to the last end, and we had controlled the hold game. So, we need to figure out what’s going on in that last and final end to take the game home.”

Having gone 3-0 down after the first two ends as they adapted to the new team set-up, ParalympicsGB rallied to mirror the efforts of the Koreans in the next two ends.

It meant scores we tired at 3-3 at half time with everything still to play for.

And proceedings remained even in the second half as Korea responded to GB’s 1-0 win in the fifth end with a two-point margin of victory in the next which McKenzie’s side then match to enter the final end 6-5 up but without the hammer.

And it would be that crucial advantage to the Koreans that allowed them to take a 2-0 victory in the eighth, after Pimblett narrowly missed the clearance of a red stone on GB’s last throw, that gave Korea a slender victory.

But the team will have an immediate opportunity to bounce back as they face Sweden on Monday evening.

“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing. We were really solid yesterday, shot percentages are high and today was the same,” added McKenzie.

“We just need to be able to close out a match. We’ll go back, we’ll debrief and we’ll look at what we need to do in those last ends to come home with a win.”