Veteran Lockhart will help Muirhead through defeat

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

 FORMER world champion Jackie Lockhart insists teenage skip Eve Muirhead will bounce back from a gut-wrenching defeat to the USA that leaves Great Britain's hopes of reaching the last four in the balance.

SHOULDER TO CRY ON: Veteran Jackie Lockhart believes her experience can prove pivotal in ensuring Eve Muirhead recovers from the disappointment of defeat (Getty Images)

Against a below-par USA, with Debbie McCormick misfiring, Muirhead and co eased their way into a 3-0 lead and looked all set to chalk up their fourth victory of the competition.

Instead, the USA crept back to 3-3 but still Great Britain looked clear favourites, leading 5-3 with just two ends remaining.

McCormick pulled back to 5-4 but Muirhead had hammer in the final end, only to fluff her lines and hand the USA a single as an extra end ensued.

Again the 19-year-old Scot had hammer and had a relatively simple final stone to take victory, but again she was found wanting, handing Great Britain a three and three record from their six matches.

The defeat will be tough to stomach for Muirhead and Great Britain's potential progression to the knock-out stages will depend on how she responds - but Lockhart, who at 44 assumes the motherly role of the team, insists she will help Muirhead to come back fighting.

"That was a gut wrenching game and especially for Eve and it will be difficult for her to take, but that's the kind of thing I'm here for," said Lockhart.

"I have been there, done it, had the wins and had the losses. We are all behind her 100 per cent. We play as a team, we win as a team and we loose as a team and that's the name of the game.

"Sometimes it happens. We are just going to pick ourselves up and come back out tomorrow.

"It was just an odd shot that didn't pull off there. I thought we played a really good game, but we let them back in.

"Debbie had a game of two halves. She didn't have a good start to the game but she certainly found draw weight in the latter half and that just made the difference for their team."

Meanwhile, Muirhead, triple world junior champion but competing in her first Olympics held her hands up and admitted she would carry the can.

"We were in control of that whole game there and a few slack shots from myself let the whole team down," she said.

"One up playing the last we couldn't ask more, we had an opportunity to win it then and even again in the extra end.

"I can't say that the noise affected me, although they were making a racket. It was a poor shot by myself and that cost us."

 

AS IT HAPPENS: Day nine of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver