Longega looks forward to Athletic

ASD CF Bardolino Verona coach Renato Longega said that UEFA Women's Cup first qualifying round Group A5 was likely to come down to a contest between his team and Athletic Club BFKEB after the Italian champions' 16-0 defeat of Birkirkara FC on Thursay.

Tuesday showdown
The win, the fourth-largest in the competition's history, preceded Athletic's 4-0 victory against Slovenian hosts ŽNK KRKA Novo Mesto, who Bardolino play tomorrow before meeting the Spanish representatives on Tuesday. Longega said: "The difference in the quality of the teams was very big. Bardolino played very well and I am satisfied with the result. I think that the decisive game in this mini-tournament will take place between my team and Athletic. They will be very good opponents for us."

Nerves overcome
Athletic, like Bardolino, exited the tournament at this stage in 2005/06 but now have a chance of progress and coach Iñigo Juraristi was pleased with their win. "At the beginning of the game my players were a little nervous, the passing was not precise and the team were not organised," he said. "So, in the second half, I made some changes in the organisation of the side and the result was that the quality of our play improved."

Room for improvement
KRKA coach Slavko Jurišić was impressed by Athetic, but vowed to improve against Bardolino. "I admit that this year my team are not as good as in previous UEFA Women's Cups, but I promise that we will not give up," he said. "We will play better in our next game against the Italian side."