A visit to former finalists Fortuna Hjørring was certainly a tricky prospect for European debutants Göteborg FC so their pleasure at the 1-0 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 16 first-leg win was clear.

The goal from Jane Törnqvist in the 11th minute allowed Göteborg to control matters at Hjørring Stadion, concentrating on shutting out the Danish side with the return to come next Thursday. And the Swedish runners-up did so excellently, allowing Fortuna – runners-up in 2003 – few chances.

Norway midfielder Ingvild Stensland, who won this trophy with Olympique Lyonnais last season before joining Göteborg, confirmed the tactics were to hold the one-goal advantage. "We are really satisfied with an away win," Stensland told UEFA.com. "It was a good game for us. We defended well and scored with an early chance in the first half, and after that the game was quite easy for us to control. For sure we wanted to score more goals, but we are happy about the win."

Fortuna defender Janni Arnth agreed: "The match was tight. They got an early goal, and after that Göteborg stood firm in defence, and we could not find any openings."

Her team-mate Line Jensen added: "I think we did well in the first ten minutes, and we felt like we could play with them. But I think [conceding] was a step back for us, and it was hard for us to fight back in the game and keep moving."

Törnqvist's goal came in freak circumstances, the ball dropping at her feet when it seemed Fortuna goalkeeper Heidi Johansen had it under control. "I thought that the goalkeeper had the ball, but then she dropped it and it was quite easy for me to score," Törnqvist said. "For the rest of the match we just worked hard for our defence and tried not to give them any opportunities."