Dave Edwards' rink sprang a surprise in the opening round of matches as Scottish curling's European Championship play-offs opened in Perth yesterday, with Edwards' side defeating Tom Brewster's team.
The latter had led his rink to victory in the Swiss Cup, held earlier this month.
Very much the outsiders - the other three teams are skipped by Olympians - Edwards' team have made a change to the line-up that was beaten in last year's Scottish final, with Billy Morton, from Ayrshire, replacing Edinburgh's Colin Campbell at lead. The side have had little opportunity to ready themselves.
"We came in with low expectations," admitted Edwards after edging Brewster out 7-6. "We've not had the preparation some of the other rinks have had. We've had six games together this season before turning up here, so we've just decided to take it easy and see where we get to, but it was a good start and we played nice and consistently. Our main aim is just to be tough to beat at the start and we'll improve as the week goes on."
While the teams led by Brewster and Dave Murdoch are supported by the GB programme, Edwards takes a different approach. "We've made the choice not to go through the funding set-up because we've got work and family commitments," he said. "So we're looking for players who are willing to drop out of that funding and invest their own money and time into the game.
"Billy was finishing University and decided that the team move for him was right. We had a slot in these play-offs so it worked out well for us."
Murdoch's men beat MacDonald's Scottish champions 8-7 in their opener at the start of six round-robin ties per team in what promises to be a hotly-contested tournament.
The women's event was redrawn after it was acknowledged that asking one of the three rinks to play three matches in a single day was too much. Former world champion Eve Muirhead and her rink opened with a 7-6 win over Lauren Gray's new quartet.
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