Braveheart Brits downed by Canada

Britain's women curlers bowed out of the Games but not without a brave last stand in a 6-5 defeat against host nation Canada.

With five defeats in their first eight round-robin games, qualification for the semi-finals had been a long shot but with Switzerland securing the fourth and final spot during the same session, their contest with the gold-medal favourites became a formality.

Canada had won four of their five previous Olympic encounters with Britain, the exception being a semi-final defeat in Salt Lake in 2002, when Rhona Martin's quartet went on to win gold.

Such hopes were not really on the agenda of current British skip Eve Muirhead but Britain began brightly against the hosts, playing some of their best shots of the Games and with their shot-making percentages well above their tournament averages.

Yet Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard stole a point against a light-weighted hammer, the final stone, from Muirhead to take a 1-0 lead in the second.

The British skip bounced back in the third end with two points and got the hammer back after the fourth after Bernard levelled the scores at 2-2.

At halfway, the game was up fro grabs at 2-2 but more light-weighted draw shots from Muirhead handed the Canadians successive steals in the sixth, seventh and eighth ends to give the home side a 5-2 lead with two ends to play.

Muirhead was not done, though, and she brought Britain back into contention with two points in the ninth to make it a one-point game, albeit with Bernard in possession of the hammer heading to the 10th and final end.

The quartet of Muirhead, Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood and Lorna Vevers upped the ante in search of at least forcing the game into extra ends and left Canada with three Britain rocks in house to deal with.

Barnard's hammer was a drawn shot aimed straight for the button but it was slightly too long and Britain gained the point they needed to tie the game and send it to an 11th end.

As the teams played that extra end, Switzerland defeated Germany 4-2 to seal the fourth and final qualifying place and officially end British hopes.

Bernard then ensured the Canadians would top the round robin table, delivering a takeout of Wood's rock nearest the button with her hammer to seal victory.

British curling veteran Lockhart has backed teenage Eve Muirhead for a long and successful Olympic career after her steep learning curve in Vancouver.

"It will stand her in great stead," Lockhart, 44, said of the current skip.

"It would have been lovely for us to come out and win and finish on a huge high but you learn so much from defeats that it makes you a much better person than when you win a game.

"I firmly believe in that and that's why you've got to look ahead."

Lockhart, who has played on four British teams at Winter Games in 1992, when curling was only a demonstration sport, 1998, 2006 and 2010, believes there is much more to come from the Scottish teenager.

"It's a huge learn for her and hopefully she'll recover from this and move on because she has so many years in front of her," Lockhart said.

"She's got fantastic potential considering that she's 19 years old at the minute. There's many people who wouldn't have reached that level until they're 30, never mind 19, so you've got to be positive knowing that she's still got lots, lots more in her and I think we should keep an eye on her."

The British camp were left to rue an extra ends defeat to the United States as the point at which the momentum swung against them in the round robin tournament.

After a strong start, which saw them beat world champions China and European champions Germany as well as losing narrowly to defending Olympic champions Sweden, they lost their last five matches.

While Muirhead has accepted responsibility for slack shots against the Americans and also Denmark, Lockhart has sympathy for her skip.

"Having been a skip myself I know what it's like," she said. "There's times when your skip will save a team and there's times when your skip's not going to play well and you're going to have to take it.

"We've given it our best and sometimes you've got to ride with luck and sometimes you've got to ride with good play. Things just didn't happen for us this week.

"I think the games that probably will help are the ones we should have won, the USA game.

"I don't know what happens in curling because we go out confident and positive every day and it's a strange thing. Curling's a mental sport and there could be one shot that doesn't work for you and then you battle with yourself and how you're feeling.

"It's a strange sport and there's so many elements to it. Sometimes it works for you. Sometimes it doesn't."