Belgium
(Suter, M) – 0 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 – 10
Ireland     – 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 – 7

Wednesday morning was ‘last chance saloon’ and a must win against Belgium .

A victory would provide the opportunity to play off versus Austria to secure ‘B’ division status whilst completing the objective of the week.

A detailed post match analysis and statistical review of the previous outing led to a couple of team lineup changes and the team took to the ice with renewed confidence and determination.

After a perfect ‘draw shot challenge’ – the match started well but it wasn’t too long before a couple of misplaced shots resulted in a loss of 4 at the 3rd, then a bizarre pickup at the 5th led to a further loss of 3, when a steal of 1 was all but secure. The team dug in and chipped away at the lead, but following a now familiar pattern, there weren’t enough ends to fully catch up. Positives from the game were a few decent individual percentages recorded on the now essential iPad App and talking ends and slowly but surely learning how to play against the high standard of opposition throughout the competition where doubles, trebles and even quadruple take outs are bulk standard, while errors can be severely punished.

With good experience now in the ‘locker’ we hope that the team can draw strength from the many painful lessons and start to build for the future.

Written from Sweden by Alan Mitchell