Scotland U21 men begin their attempt to make history in 2022

Scotland U21 men get their Junior World Cup qualification campaign underway with matches against Durham University this weekend as they bid to become the first Scottish men’s team to qualify for a Junior World Cup since 2001.

2022 is set to be an incredible year for the team as they build towards the U21 EuroHockey Championships this summer, where they will target a top five finish despite needing a top six spot to qualify for the Junior World Cup.

These ambitious targets are being set by the coaching staff as this is an exciting and high-performing group of young athletes, with the potential to break records and make history.

Recent successes for Scotland featuring squad players include the Scotland U19 squad winning the GB&I Development Series; Scotland EDP drawing twice with world number six ranked England; winning a series against world number ten ranked Malaysia; and winning a series against world number 15 ranked Wales.

It is also the first Scotland U21s men’s squad to compete in the European top division since 2012, and they will aim to be the first Scotland Men’s U21 team to retain their status in the top division since 2002.

At the EuroHockey Championships in Ghent on 24-30 July Scotland feature alongside top-ranked competition in Belgium; the Netherlands; Germany; England; France; Russia; and Spain, with the top six reaching the World Cup.

It all gets underway this weekend at Peffermill as Scotland U21 Men welcome English Premiership side Durham University to Edinburgh with matches on Saturday and Sunday getting underway at 2pm.

Spectators for these matches are permitted, as per Scottish Government Guidance, with up to 500 capacity at the venue. We would ask spectators to follow guidance with 2M social distancing between groups and masks worn in all indoor spaces unless proof of exemption is provided.

However, we will report the results from each match and encourage people to consider carefully the risks of attending, due to the prevalence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and current government restrictions.

The team will also begin fundraising to further support their campaign and any sponsorship enquiries can be made to [email protected]

Graham Moodie, head coach of Scotland U21 men, said:

‘With Scottish men’s hockey having had such a positive year in 2021, it’s great to be able to start our U21 European A Division campaign so early with these games against English prem opposition in Durham University.

‘It’s a great chance for both teams to blow off the cobwebs and for us to start setting our standards for the year ahead.  The games give us the opportunity to play the majority of our squad against high-level opposition and identify areas we will need to develop ahead of playing England U21s at Easter.

‘We have an exciting year ahead with the opportunity to create our own little bit of history and we’re looking forward to getting started.’

 

Squad

Matt Taylor (Inverleith)

Nic Hadland (Western Wildcats)

Henry Saxby (Exeter)

Sam Hill (Exeter)

AJ Lochrin (Uddingston)

Andy McAllister (Western Wildcats)

Iain McFadden (Edinburgh University)

Ritchie McCluskey (Edinburgh University)

Scott Menzies (Western Wildcats)

Charlie Jack (Grange)

Jamie Croll (Grange)

Cameron Ede (Exeter)

Stephen MacKenzie (Uddingston)

John Stephen (Edinburgh University)

Alex Wilson (GFB)

Fraser Moran (Western Wildcats)

Ali Douglas (Clydesdale)

Euan Burgess (Loughborough)

Sam Knight (Grove Menzieshill)

Dan Pearson (Dunfermline Carnegie)

Adam MacKenzie (Western Wildcats)

Fraser Heigh (Grange)

Jacob Tweedie (Grange)

Ben Galloway (Exeter)

Keir Robb (Edinburgh University)

Matt Hewson (Surbiton)

Noah Jones (ESM)

 

Eligible senior players

Robbie Croll (Edinburgh University)

Jamie Golden (Surbiton)

Struan Walker (Club An Der Alster)

 

Staff

Head Coach – Graham Moodie

Assistant Coach (Goal Scoring) – Neil Allan

Assistant Coach (Defence & Pressing) – Gareth Weaver-Tyler

Assistant Coach (Counter Attack) – Graham Dunlop

GK Coach & Corner Defence – Gavin Somerville / Sean Hadfield

Drag Flick Coach & Corner Attack – Scott Sutherland

Physio – Lianne Brunton / Justine Greaves

Strength and Conditioning Coach – Rob Taylor

Excellence Coach (Sports Psych) – Stephen Leckey (Lecturer in Psychology)

Sports Science Lead – Nairn Scobie (Lecturer in Physiology and Sports Science)

Sports Science Intern (GPS & Monitoring) – TBC

Manager – Martin Beckford

 

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top