Djurgarden head coach Jani Honkavaara has called on his side to step up in tonight’s second leg of the Swedish side’s UEFA Conference League (UECL) Round of 16 tie against Pafos (18:45 CET).
Honkavaara’s side trail 1-0 after defeat in the first leg in Cyprus, with the winning goal scored by former Sweden international Maumer Tankovic.
Djurgarden must therefore win tonight’s fixture at 3Arena in 90 minutes to have any hope of reaching a first European Quarter-final for the club since the inaugural European Cup in 1955/56.
Finnish manager Honkavaara, who only took over in the new year after they finished fifth in the League Phase, has outlined what he wants to see from his side to complete a turnaround against a strong side.
“Pafos is a very good team with a lot of individual skill. They were aggressive last time and we didn’t get much time, so we have to act better when we have the ball on Thursday.” he said this week.
To combat that individual skill, he expects his side to work on man-to-man elements of their game, “Pafos is such a good team that we can’t just rely on playing off their pressure, the players also have to win duels and solve situations one-on-one – because you don’t get that much time with the ball.”
Djurgarden will be without Marcus Danielson for the game in Stockholm, who is suspended having picked up a third yellow card in the UECL this season.
As well as Tankovic, the home side will have to be wary of another Swede, Ken Sema, who was named in Jon Dahl Tomasson‘s squad this week for the March international window.
Defeat to Goteborg in the Svenska Cupen before the first leg means Djurgarden risk falling to three competitive losses in a row.
Confidence would hardly have grown over the weekend, as The Iron Stoves lost 2-1 in a friendly against Brommapojkarna.
Needing to stop the rot and become the first Swedish club in 30 years to reach the last eight of any European competition, Honkavaara’s parting message is simple:
“Now, we have to step up and show what we are all about.”
