Torres await confident Arsenal

By Kevin Ashby

Sardinia stages the opening UEFA Women's Cup quarter-final first-leg match tomorrow as Torres Terra Sarda take on an Arsenal LFC side determined to advance after missing out on Europe last season.

Knockout blows
Arsenal reached this stage in the inaugural Women's Cup three years ago, going down to French side Toulouse FC in extra time in the second leg after both matches ended in draws. They went one better the following term before being outclassed by Danish opponents Fortuna Hjørring, going down 8-2 on aggregate, while Fulham LFC represented England last term after wresting the Premier League title from the Gunners.

Amazing defeat
Torres last competed in this tournament three years ago, failing to get out of a group won by eventual semi-finalists HJK Helsinki. The islanders advanced to the knockout stage as runners-up to 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in Group B3, their amazing 7-5 loss to the German champions in their final pool fixture seeing them line up against Arsenal rather than FC Energy Voronezh of Russia.

'Tough group'
Vic Akers' Arsenal won their section courtesy of a 1-0 final-day victory against Djurgården/Alvsjö, the champions of Sweden who now face their compatriots and holders Umeå IK. "It was a tough group and we didn't really want to end up playing Umeå, so we knew had to battle," was Arsenal goalkeeper Emma Byrne's take on the Group B2 triumph.

'Great asset'
The Republic of Ireland custodian said her side are much improved from previous editions which failed to go all the way in Europe, telling arsenal.com: "Mary Phillip coming in has been a great asset because of her speed, and Julie Fleeting is one of the best strikers in Europe. Also a lot of the girls have been away now with both Arsenal and on international duty. We know what it involves and how we should mentally prepare.

Away support
"I think a draw will probably suffice on Saturday," she added. "We really want to get them back here but the main thing will be to concede as little as possible. I understand Sardinia is a nice place at this time of year - so funnily enough we are getting loads of fans who want to go out with us for this trip." The return will be played on Sunday 31 October, kicking off at 5pm (18.00CET), with one of the Swedish contenders awaiting the winners.