British curling duo prepare for battle with Norwegian foes
Despite a strong start, Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat have struggled for consistency throughout the tournament.
Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat are relishing the prospect of immediate revenge as they prepare to face Norway for a place in the mixed curling gold medal match at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Dodds and Mouat rounded off their round-robin programme with a 8-4 win over the United States on Monday morning, a result which confirmed a semi-final meeting with Norway, to whom they lost 6-2 on Sunday night.
Dodds and Mouat beat the Norwegian duo – Kristen Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten – 9-7 in the final of last year’s World Championship in Aberdeen.
“It’s going to be a battle out there tonight,” said Dodds. “If we tighten up the errors we made against them last night, it will be a close game – every time we have played them so far has always been close.
“Obviously we didn’t play our best against them last night, but after that performance against the USA, I think we can take a lot of confidence into tonight’s match.”
Dodds and Mouat had the luxury of going into their final game secure in the knowledge that their semi-final berth – and with it a guaranteed shot at a medal – was secured by virtue of their overall record.
The British duo ended the round-robin phase in third place with six wins from their nine games, behind the Norwegians and Italy, who won all nine of their group matches and will face fourth-placed Sweden in the last four.
Despite a strong start, Dodds and Mouat have struggled for consistency throughout the tournament but will be bolstered by the manner of their win over the US, and also by a proven ability on the big occasion, having claimed the world title on home soil last year.
“This is what we’ve dreamed of for a long time – to be in a semi-final in our first Olympics is exactly what we’ve trained for and envisaged.
“It was very important (to beat the US) for our momentum going forward. We just have to keep going and battle really hard tonight. We are going to be a bit more clinical than yesterday.”
Skaslien and Nedregotten received a retrospective bronze medal from the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang following the expulsion of the team from the Russian Olympic Committee due to a doping offence.
The winners of Monday night’s semi-final go through to the gold medal match in Beijing on Tuesday night, while the losers contest the bronze on Tuesday afternoon.
