Djurgården/Älvsjö in fine form

By Jan Juhlin

With 4-1 friendly wins against local rivals AIK Solna and Hammarby IF over Easter, Swedish champions Djurgården/Älvsjö are coming into their UEFA Women's Cup semi-final against Arsenal LFC in fine form.

Friendly games
With the Swedish season yet to start, Djurgården/Älvsjö have been arranging friendly games to get them into shape for the first leg of their tie against the English side at Stockholm's Råsunda stadium on Thursday, and the form of one of their most important players has been particularly encouraging.

Svensson striking
Swedish international Victoria Svensson proved beyond doubt that she had made a full recovery from a foot injury by scoring hat-tricks in the wins against AIK and Hammarby, and got her name on the scoresheet once more as her side won 4-0 against Finnish side HJK Helsinki in their most recent friendly.

Going to plan
Coach Mikael Söderman said: "It's gone to plan. Svenssonhas looked sharp after the surgery, and Linda Fagerström has been in very good shape during the whole pre-season. I've also been impressed with [Kristin] Bengtsson, who's got a lot of running in her legs."

Everyone available
With new recruit Elin Ekblom over a bout of flu, Söderman has a full squad to choose from for the first leg - although new Finnish signing Laura Kalmari is ineligible, having already played in the Women's Cup for Umeå IK this season. "Everyone is available and that feels good," said Söderman.

Arsenal plans
"We're looking forward to the game and hoping for a win, hopefully with a few goals so that we get a margin ahead of the away game against them in London," he added. "It's important that we focus on our own game and use our pace, passing style and use wide areas so that we can grind our way through their team."