Scottish Hockey Union: Scotland’s senior men are back to full strength for their trip to Egypt this week with Inverleith’s Stephen Dick available for selection following time out for University commitments.

The Scots head to Cairo after a weekend of mixed fortunes on the continent where they recorded two wins against France before going down to a 4-0 defeat in the last game of their three match series in Bordeaux.

The Egyptians, who rank five places higher than the Scots on the world stage, are using this encounter as part of their build up before the BDO Hockey World Cup Qualifier in China in April, while the Scots have a more pressing engagement in the shape of the Commonwealth Games in March.

The two sides last met in 2003 during a 4 Nations tournament in France with Egypt emerging victorious with a 4-1 victory. In fact it’s almost 10 years since Scotland won against the Egyptians though they did hold them to a draw in March 2003.

National Coach Mathias Ahrens is confident about his team’s prospects for the three match series.

"Overall we had a very successful weekend in France, winning the series. This is a team who beat us last year and this time we had comfortable wins which is a big step forward,” he said.

“The trip to Egypt will give us a chance to do more work on team bonding and having Stephen back in the squad is important for us as we do that. The team is in good shape and good spirits and the progress they have made is excellent.

“It’s been some time since we beat Egypt but last time we played them in Cairo we drew so I am pretty confident that we can beat them this time."

The Scots will play their first match at 18;00 (16:00 GMT) on Friday, 24 February.

Scotland Men
Jonathan Christie, Michael Christie, Allan Dick, Stephen Dick, Graham Dunlop, Gareth Hall, Mike Leonard, Alistair McGregor, Adam McKenzie, David Mansouri, Vishal Marwaha, David Mitchell, Graham Moodie, David Ralph, Mark Ralph, Derek Salmond, Dougie Simpson, Niall Stott, Coach: Mathias Ahrens, Assistant Coaches: Craig Parnham, Gordon Shepherd, Manager: Eugene Connolly

Match Schedule
Friday 24 February, Scotland v Egypt; 18:00

Saturday 25 February, Scotland v Egypt, 18:00

Sunday 26 February, Scotland v Egypt, 18:00