Curling, Italy stops in semifinals at World Cup

Curling, results

The men’s curling World Cup being held at the TD Arena in Ottawa, Canada, has reached the crucial stage.

Italy, after overcoming Norway in the qualification game, ventured into the semifinals against Scotland.

Unfortunately, Joël Retornaz (Fiamme Oro), Sebastiano Arman (Fiamme Oro), Amos Mosaner (Fiamme Oro) and Mattia Giovanella (Fiamme Gialle) had to raise the white flag, albeit fighting like lions.

The Azzurri started better, putting their opponents on the ropes early in the match, so much so that they scored twice in both the second and fourth end. At the same time, when they had the hammer at their disposal, the Scots were forced to settle for a point.

With Italy leading 4-2 after four hands, however, Bruce Mouat and his teammates fought back, tying the score just short of halftime.

The defending European champions then took the reins of the match, turning the tables and, with them, the score. They pocketed the double point in both the seventh and ninth segments, conversely leaving only one to the Azzurri in the sixth and eighth.

Italy, coming to the last hand trailing 6-8, was able to pull the proverbial tailspin, taking advantage of one of their rivals’ very rare errors to balance the score and drag the game to the extra end. In truth, it lacked only a few inches to materialize a resounding triple marker.

Nonetheless, having escaped danger, the Scots made the advantage of the last stone count, closing the contest in their favor (8-9).

So Scotland confirmed itself as a real “black beast.” Including the Olympic matches in which they appear as Great Britain, they racked up their 18th consecutive victory against the Azzurri, who, however, came close today. In a tight match, it was the episodes that made the difference.