IT could ultimately come down to Scotland versus England.
It often does. The draw for the women's hockey at the Commonwealth Games has thrown together the two old rivals in a section that also includes Australia, Wales and Malaysia.
Only two will qualify for the semi-finals and with the Australians, ranked world No.2, expected to top the section it could come down to a scrap between Scotland and England to see who progresses alongside them. To add to the tension, the teams do not meet until the final group game, setting up the possibility of a denouement that Scotland captain Linda Clement describes as a "tasty affair".
Scotland, ranked 16th in the world to England's sixth, ran their neighbours close in the recent Investec Cup, losing only 2-1, and with home backing the hope is that they can yet land a surprise. All that will count for nothing, of course, if the Scots don't win their matches against Wales and Malaysia this afternoon.
"The England game is the last group game, so if we perform well and beat the teams that on paper we should beat then it lines it up quite a tasty affair," said Clement. "I don't want to get too carried away with that, though, because unless we do our job in the earlier fixtures it could be irrelevant."
The temporary stands around the new Scottish Hockey Centre on Glasgow Green are expected to be full for all of Scotland's games, and Clement hopes the fans could help push the team towards a medal place.
"It will be a difficult challenge," said the 34-year-old, set to appear in her fourth Commonwealth Games. "The best we've finished in the past was in Melbourne [in 2006], when we were fifth. So to break into the top four will be hard.
"We've been working really hard and training full-time, which is something we've not been able to do in the build-up to previous Games. Our performances have been good against teams ranked higher than us so we have to take belief from that.
"We played in front of a home crowd at the Champions Challenge back in April and our performances were good. That gave us a little taster of what the Games will probably be like. We hope the home crowd will give us a little bit of an extra edge.
"We're based full-time at Glasgow Green and it's a top-quality surface. We're playing and training there every day so we're going to have a bit of an advantage, knowing the stadium and how the turf plays."
Clement, one of the four nominees to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, hopes that hockey will make an impression that lasts beyond the duration of the Games. "Hockey doesn't get that much coverage on the telly, so this is a good chance for us to promote the sport," she added.
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