Canny Alma outsmart rivals

Alma KTZH missed out on the UEFA Women's Cup second qualifying round for the first time in three entries last season, but this time around they made no mistake.

Arsenal await
In Moldova for first qualifying round Group A9, Kazkstani champions Alma completed 5-0 defeats of both hosts FC Narta Chisinau and Azerbaijan's Ruslan 93 before winning their decider 3-1 against 1. FC Femina Budapest, putting to bed memories of the 8-0 loss to Valur Reykjavík and 5-2 reverse against WFC Rossiyanka that ended their campaign with a game to spare a year ago in Slovakia. A tough Group B1 awaits in October with holders Arsenal LFC involved along with fellow qualifiers ASD CF Bardolino Verona and SV Neulengbach, but Alma coach Alexandrov Nikolay was delighted with his team's progress following the crucial win against Femina.

Tactics work
"I am very happy to win today against a team which is of the same standard as us," Nikolay told uefa.com. "It was a tactical win - my team did what we discussed. We started with only one striker [Mariya Yalova], waited for our opponents to attack and tried to operate with our fast players on the counterattack. Yalova scored early and became the top scorer of the mini-tournament with six goals and I think she was the best player here. I know that in the next round we shall be facing three strong sides, but our girls always do their best. I am looking forward to it."