Scots set to test themselves against the best in Antwerp

Scotland face a difficult week in Antwerp at the EuroHockey Championships, starting tomorrow.

They are competing at the highest level of the competition, in itself a great step forward, but they will face really testing matches.

They face Germany in their opening match, ranked 14 places above the Scots.

It will be only marginally easier on Sunday when Ireland are their opponents – but this may be the match Scotland can target for a positive result.

The Pool B matches will be completed on Tuesday when Netherlands, ranked number three in the world, will be their opponents.

Pool A has Belgium, England, Spain and Wales, the first three ranked a lot higher than Wales.

The third and fourth teams from each Pool will play a classification Pool on Thursday and Saturday, facing the two teams from the other Pool to add to the relevant result in their own Pool. The bottom two from this will be relegated.

The top two in each Pool will play cross-over semi-finals on Thursday and medal matches on Saturday.

The Scotland squad of 18 players includes only one player from a local club – Aidan McQuade, of Grove Menzieshill. However there are two other players who began their hockey careers at Menzieshill – Gavin Byers now with UHC Hamburg and Cammy Golden who has only this month signed for Klein Zwitserland based in The Hague, Netherlands.

Scotland are at this, the top level of this competition, having won EuroHockey Championship II 2017 in Glasgow.

Under coach Derek Forsyth the Scots have had an exceptional last few years during which they have clocked up their highest finish at a Commonwealth Games, won Team of the Year at the Sunday Post Sports Awards, and have finished higher than their international ranking four times in three years.

Only two other players are based in Scotland, Callum Duke (Hillhead) and Duncan Riddell (Grange).

The others play their club hockey mainly in England, Germany, France and Netherlands. They are: Tommy Alexander, Michael Bremner (UHC Hamburg), Tim Atkins, Alan Forsyth, Nick Parkes (Surbiton), Kenny Bain (Hurley), Andy Bull, Lee Morton (Old Georgians), Murray Collins (Teddington), Craig Falconer (Reading), David Forrester (Montrouge), Ed Greaves (Loughborough) and Callum MacKenzie Cardiff Met).