Kings players unavailable as Campbell names squad

By SANDY SUTHERLAND
Published on 29/06/2012 12:08

Despite the fact that Edinburgh Kings won both the Scottish league and the National League play-offs last season, they have not a single player in the Scottish men’s team for next week’s European Small Countries Championship in San Marino.

Coach Tom Campbell has stressed that he would have included some Kings players had they been available, but the nearest to a City of Edinburgh club man in the team of 12 is North Berwick’s Ali MacKay, who played for Kings before moving to the USA.

Campbell has named Glasgow Rocks pro Gareth Murray as captain and he will be joined by his Florida-reared clubmate Danny Huffor, whose mother comes from Lochwinnoch.

A 6ft 4in guard-forward, Huffor made an impressive debut for Scotland against England in a warm-up game last month.

The two Spain-based Scots currently training with the Great Britain squad in Texas, Robert Archibald and Kieron Achara, are not available, nor are the three Scots training with the GB under-20 squad – Jonny Bunyan (Falkirk Fury), Lee Reilly (Edinburgh Kings) and Ali Fraser (University of Maine).

All three under-20s would have been included in the senior national squad had it not been for the clash.

There is not one survivor from the team who contested the last such event in Malta in 2010.

Scotland, who have never won this event either in its current form or as the former Promotion Cup, open against Malta on Monday, play San Marino on Tuesday and Wales on Wednesday and should win their group to qualify to meet either Moldova or Andorra in the semi-finals.

Team: Nick Collins, Fraser Glass, David Johnstone, Colin Railley (all St Mirren); Danny Huffor, Gareth Murray (both Glasgow Rocks); Euan Campbell, Ifedade Thomas (both Troon Tornadoes); Ali MacKay (Davidson College); Scott Russell (Falkirk Fury); Martin Walmsley (Glasgow Storm); coach: Tom Campbell.

Scotland’s women’s team travel to Vienna tomorrow to play two challenge games against Austria in preparation for their European Small Countries tournament in Struga, FYROM beginning on July 10.

Former Edinburgh Kool Kat Rose Anderson is unvailable having been named for the GB Olympic team, but Scotland coach Ian Gordon has called in the Old Dominion University player Mairi Buchan who missed out on GB selection.

Team: Rona Corkindale, Ailidh Hood, Siobhan Moore (all Glasgow Rocks); Lynsey Campbell, Julie Ritchie (both Polonia Phoenix); Gillian Baird (Loughborough University); Mairi Buchan (Old Dominion Univ, Virginia); Emma Findlay (Edinburgh Kool Kats); Kathryn Taylor (Colgate University); Deanne Hayward (Armstrong Atlantic College); coach: Ian Gordon.