Northern Lights

[kamikazecf]

So our next game was away at Sandvikens – they were the team against whom Juha Tuominen had last scored before the Assyriska game.

19.10.2005 at Jernvallen, Sandviken

First Division Game 27: Sandvikens IF (12th) vs. Kiruna (11th)

Last meeting: Kiruna 2-1 Sandvikens IF; overall vs. Sandvikens IF: 1W-0D-0L

J. Boström; J. Bergström ©, K. Haaland, F. Langseth, S. Sjöbom; K. Gjesdal, E. Lantto, K. Haglund, D. Solbakken; J. Tuominen, N. Löfgren. Subs: F. Henriksen, R. Kjellin, M. Jönsson, S. Merkesdal, J. Gunillasson

The lineup wasn’t our best, but I expected better than this. Only Boström and Langseth performed even acceptably in our 2-0 loss, in which we could muster only a single shot on goal.

Sandvikens 2-0 Kiruna

M. Rosvall 43’; R. Dahlqvist pen 61’

Subs: M. Jönsson for D. Solbakken, 73’; S. Merkesdal for E. Lantto, 73’; J. Gunillasson for N. Löfgren, 73’

Misc.: -

Att.: 1276

***

Assyriska managed a shock 4-3 win at IFK Malmö, but Kalmar lost so we had a four-point cushion from the drop zone. Landskrona won and passed Falkenberg, who lost their fifth on the trot.

[kamikazecf]

Our next game was against IFK Malmö, who would almost certainly be peeved after their loss in the last game. Of course, so were we.

23.10.2005 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna

First Division Game 28: Kiruna (12th) vs. IFK Malmö (4th)

Last meeting: IFK Malmö 2-1 Kiruna; overall vs. IFK Malmö: 0W-0D-1L

J. Boström; T. Johnsen, F. Langseth, R. Kjellin © G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, N. Löfgren. Subs: F. Henriksen, K. Haaland, S. Merkesdal, K. Gjesdal, J. Tuominen

IFK had a lot to play for here; as it stood, they were a point behind the promotion playoff spot. But Kiruna came out more aggressive and we nearly scored three times early on. Still though, no goals came in the first half and the balance was slowly tilting towards the visitors.

They scored just four minutes in to the second half. Joakim Gunillasson scored with 11 minutes left in the game to knot it at one apiece, and thus it ended.

Kiruna 1-1 IFK Malmö

M. Eriksson 49’; J. Gunillasson 79’ (F. Langseth)

Subs: K. Gjesdal for T. Johnsen, 75’; J. Tuominen for N. Löfgren, 73’

Misc.: T. Johnsen, yellow card, 25’

Att.: 3117

***

Assyriska beat Landskrona, leapfrogged us, and condemned their victims to relegation. Falkenberg also lost and secured a return to the Second Division. Kalmar’s only realistic hope is to win both of their games – unlikely with two tough matches left to play – and hope that Kiruna or Assyriska can manage at best one draw.

[kamikazecf]

A game at Häcken was our first chance to secure survival.

29.10.2005 at Rambergsvallen, Göteborg

First Division Game 29: Häcken (8th) vs. Kiruna (13th)

Last meeting: Kiruna 3-0 Häcken; overall vs. Häcken: 1W-0D-0L

J. Boström; T. Johnsen, F. Langseth, R. Kjellin © G. Teigen; K. Gjesdal, N. Labba, K. Haglund, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, N. Löfgren. Subs: F. Henriksen, K. Haaland, E. Lantto, S. Merkesdal, J. Tuominen

This game was on a Saturday; Kalmar didn’t play until Sunday, so we had only our own game to concentrate on this time. And we concentrated hard. Häcken attacked, but we were resolute in defense and forayed forward a few times ourselves. Frank Langseth had his second consecutive massive game in defense and Jonatan Boström turned in a Man of the Match-caliber performance with four saves plus four times he snatched the ball off the feet of opposition strikers.

But a tie wouldn’t secure us safety. A late triple substitution included Kenneth Haaland and Juha Tuominen replacing the starting strike force, and it was Haaland who kept us up with an injury-time header from a Marcus Jönsson corner – his first goal for Kiruna!

Häcken 0-1 Kiruna

K. Haaland 90’ (M. Jönsson)

Subs: S. Merkesdal for K. Haglund, 84’; J. Tuominen for J. Gunillasson, 84’; K. Haaland for N. Löfgren, 84’

Misc.: -

Att.: 4537

***

Time for the Safety Dance, baby! Hot damn. One more game, and then a whole offseason of incoming transfers thanks to the cash we’ve got now! Oh fun.

Kalmar lost on Sunday anyway, so we would have stayed up regardless, but whatever. Öster’s win secured them promotion, although they weren’t guaranteed the championship.

[kamikazecf]

Dagfinn Solbakken completed his move to National of Norway. We wished him well indeed.

I selected the lineup for the Umeå game, our last, based purely on the average ratings for the players over the course of the season.

6.11.2005 at Rambergsvallen, Göteborg

First Division Game 30: Kiruna (13th) vs. Umeå FC (5th)

Last meeting: Umeå FC 2-0 Kiruna; overall vs. Umeå FC: 0W-0D-1L

J. Boström; T. Johnsen, B. Andersson, F. Langseth, G. Teigen; K. Gjesdal, N. Labba, S. Merkesdal, M. Jönsson; J. Tuominen, K. Haaland. Subs: F. Henriksen, R. Kjellin, J. Bergström, K. Haglund, J. Gunillasson

I told the players to try and make it pretty today, since the game didn’t matter and the fans deserved to see some nice football. Patrick Kwesi Anoff provided it for them three minutes in; of course, that meant Umeå took the lead, but oh well.

We actually had the better of the game, forcing Umeå’s goalie into six saves, and snatched an equalizer through Juha Tuominen in the second half. But Anoff picked up his second of the game shortly after – Umeå’s second shot on target, too – and that was all she wrote. Same story as last game against them, really, but the effort was good and no one was really complaining after the game.

Kiruna 1-2 Umeå FC

P. Anoff 3’, 70’; J. Tuominen 65’ (M. Jönsson)

Subs: K. Haglund for N. Labba, 85’

Misc.: -

Att.: 3064

***

How about Kalmar FF? Damn. The week after securing relegation, they whomp champions Öster 5-0! Hell of a way to go down.

So here’s a final table for you:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st C Öster 30 9 3 3 20 12 6 4 5 27 29 52

2nd P Norrköping 30 9 5 1 34 16 5 4 6 31 31 51

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Pl Värtan 30 9 4 2 27 13 5 5 5 15 17 51

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4th IFK Malmö 30 10 2 3 31 19 4 6 5 24 29 50

5th Umeå FC 30 10 2 3 29 12 4 5 6 17 23 49

6th Västra Frölunda 30 10 4 1 32 20 3 3 9 11 22 46

7th Café Opera 30 8 2 5 30 22 4 6 5 18 23 44

8th Sandvikens IF 30 8 4 3 20 15 4 4 7 14 22 44

9th Häcken 30 9 1 5 21 12 3 5 7 11 16 42

10th Västerås SK 30 6 7 2 24 11 4 4 7 20 26 41

11th Brage 30 8 4 3 36 26 3 2 10 23 33 39

12th Assyriska 30 6 3 6 24 20 4 3 8 19 24 36

13th ***Kiruna*** 30 7 5 3 25 16 2 4 9 11 24 36

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14th R Kalmar FF 30 4 6 5 30 30 4 2 9 22 27 32

15th R Landskrona 30 3 6 6 20 25 2 2 11 22 36 23

16th R Falkenberg 30 4 3 8 14 28 2 2 11 12 35 23 </pre>

Told you we could avoid relegation.

Final team stats:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">************************************************************************************************

Kiruna FF - Sunday 6th November 2005

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 Andersson, Björn D C SWE 11.3.80 25 - - 750|:- 26.11.05 100|TKr

7 Bergström, Johan D/M R SWE 19.9.83 22 - - 2,3|TKr 5.11.06 650|TKr

13 Boström, Jonatan GK SWE 24.4.86 19 - - 750|:- 28.11.06 140|TKr

15 Gjesdal, Kristian AM/F R NOR 26.8.88 17 - - 1,7|TKr 6.11.07 550|TKr

10 Gunillasson, Joakim S C SWE 10.11.77 27 - - 2,4|TKr 17.11.06 400|TKr

18 Haaland, Kenneth D/S C NOR 4.12.86 18 - - 2,75|TKr 15.11.07 550|TKr

14 Haglund, Kenneth M C SWE 24.7.85 20 - - 800|:- 28.11.06 300|TKr

1 Henriksen, Frode GK NOR 7.2.85 20 - - 1,3|TKr 12.11.06 200|TKr

23 Johnsen, Thomas D R NOR 28.7.87 18 - - 1,7|TKr 17.11.07 280|TKr

11 Jönsson, Marcus M LC SWE 15.10.78 27 - - 2,2|TKr 12.10.07 600|TKr

6 Kjellin, Robert D LC SWE 11.3.73 32 - - 2,75|TKr 12.11.06 600|TKr

4 Labba, Nils Johan M C SWE 5.11.84 21 - - 2,2|TKr 12.11.06 400|TKr

5 Langseth, Frank D RC NOR 17.2.80 25 - - 2,75|TKr 12.11.06 280|TKr

8 Lantto, Erik AM C SWE 10.3.80 25 - - 2,75|TKr 24.11.05 600|TKr

2 Lindmark, Marcus D R SWE 12.5.83 22 - - 1,9|TKr 4.11.06 450|TKr

9 Löfgren, Niklas S C SWE 21.2.79 26 - - 2,75|TKr 12.11.07 2,1|MKr

22 Merkesdal, Ståle DM C NOR 26.11.86 18 - - 750|:- 12.11.06 180|TKr

21 Sjöbom, Stefan D L SWE 31.10.73 32 - - 1,5|TKr 27.11.05 Free

3 Teigen, Geir D L NOR 11.7.85 20 - - 2,75|TKr 23.11.07 700|TKr

19 Tuominen, Juha S C FIN 16.10.83 22 - - 2,2|TKr 12.11.06 650|TKr

================================================================================================

2005 Senior Club Stats

================================================================================================

No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 Andersson, Björn 11 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.73

7 Bergström, Johan 20 (3) 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 6.78

13 Boström, Jonatan 14 (2) 0 18 0 0 0 0 3 7.50

15 Gjesdal, Kristian 14 (7) 5 0 0 1 2 0 1 6.95

10 Gunillasson, Joakim 18 (7) 6 0 0 1 0 0 2 6.72

18 Haaland, Kenneth 11 (5) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.81

14 Haglund, Kenneth 21 (5) 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 6.58

1 Henriksen, Frode 18 0 24 0 0 0 2 2 7.33

23 Johnsen, Thomas 12 (2) 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 6.57

11 Jönsson, Marcus 29 (1) 1 0 0 8 2 0 0 7.13

6 Kjellin, Robert 25 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.64

4 Labba, Nils Johan 22 (1) 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 6.83

5 Langseth, Frank 24 1 0 0 1 6 1 1 6.92

8 Lantto, Erik 10 (6) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.19

2 Lindmark, Marcus 19 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.47

9 Löfgren, Niklas 21 (5) 5 0 0 3 1 0 1 6.62

22 Merkesdal, Ståle 7 (3) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.70

21 Sjöbom, Stefan 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33

3 Teigen, Geir 28 3 0 3 (3) 2 5 1 2 7.36

19 Tuominen, Juha 17 (5) 6 0 0 3 0 0 0 7.00

================================================================================================

2005 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

31.1.05 Jonatan Boström Free Transfer Free

1.2.05 Mats Strandberg Free Transfer Free

7.3.05 Kristian Gjesdal Free Transfer Free

18.3.05 Kenneth Haaland Free Transfer Free

6.5.05 Thomas Johnsen Free Transfer Free

22.8.05 Jens Gustavsson Brage Loan

15.10.05 Rickard Granberg (scout) Free Transfer Free

16.10.05 Johnny Josefsson (scout) Free Transfer Free

Date Player Out To Fee

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

25.3.05 Markus Wiksten Released Free

2.6.05 Göran Samuelsson Sylvia Free

21.7.05 Rickard Granberg Released Free

4.8.05 Mats Strandberg M. Irony Ashdod Free

5.11.05 Dagfinn Solbakken National (NOR) Bos

================================================================================================

2005 Fixtures

================================================================================================

Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25.3.05 Luleå SK H Lombia Cup 3:3 1032 Löfgren 2, Gunillasson

26.3.05 Luleå Fotboll H Lombia Cup 2:2 245 Strandberg, Teigen pen

27.3.05 Boden H Lombia Cup 2:0 294 Haaland 3, G.Samuelsson

3.4.05 Öster H First Division 1:1 3456 Tuominen

10.4.05 Västra Frölunda A First Division 2:3 4534 Löfgren, Tuominen

17.4.05 Norrköping H First Division 1:3 3496 Tuominen

24.4.05 Västerås SK A First Division 2:2 4589 Bergström, Haglund

1.5.05 Falkenberg H First Division 2:0 3010 Löfgren, Kjellin

7.5.05 Café Opera A First Division 2:1 4524 Kjellin, Löfgren

15.5.05 Kalmar FF H First Division 0:0 3481

31.5.05 Brage A First Division 0:2 4564

5.6.05 Assyriska A First Division 2:3 4295 Haglund, Labba

12.6.05 Landskrona H First Division 2:1 3491 Löfgren, Gunillasson

19.6.05 IFK Malmö A First Division 1:2 4763 Löfgren

26.6.05 Häcken H First Division 3:0 3464 Gjesdal 3

17.7.05 Värtan A First Division 0:0 3397

24.7.05 Älgarna A Swedish Cup Grp 8 1st Rnd 2:1 1403 Teigen pen, Gunillasson

31.7.05 Sandvikens IF H First Division 2:1 3007 Tuominen, Lindmark

7.8.05 Umeå FC A First Division 0:2 4575

13.8.05 Norrköping A First Division 0:3 4577

21.8.05 Västerås SK H First Division 1:1 3111 Gjesdal

24.8.05 Selånger A Swedish Cup Grp 8 2nd Rnd 1:2 1020 Gunillasson

28.8.05 Västra Frölunda H First Division 3:1 3102 Langseth, Gunillasson, Teigen pen

31.8.05 Öster A First Division 1:1 4584 Gustavsson

11.9.05 Kalmar FF A First Division 0:0 4543

14.9.05 Brage H First Division 1:2 3111 Teigen pen

18.9.05 Falkenberg A First Division 0:1 3408

25.9.05 Café Opera H First Division 4:1 3127 Gunillasson, Jönsson, Labba 2

2.10.05 Landskrona A First Division 0:2 4548

5.10.05 Assyriska H First Division 3:2 3104 Gjesdal, Tuominen, Merkesdal

16.10.05 Värtan H First Division 0:0 2717

19.10.05 Sandvikens IF A First Division 0:2 1276

23.10.05 IFK Malmö H First Division 1:1 3117 Gunillasson

29.10.05 Häcken A First Division 1:0 4537 Haaland

6.11.05 Umeå FC H First Division 1:2 3064 Tuominen </pre>

[kamikazecf]

Close season 2005/’06

First matter to handle was Kiruna’s own players with expiring contracts. Stefan Sjöbom was released with a minimum of fuss; letting go of Erik Lantto was a more difficult decision, but he simply hadn’t performed and I was pretty sure we would be bringing in more midfielders to compensate for his loss. Björn Andersson I wanted to keep for at least another season, and he was willing to stay on until November 2006.

Geir Teigen was voted Kiruna Supporters’ Player of the Year, by all means a well-deserved honor. Our flush new board of directors also expanded the terracing at Lombiavallen to hold another 5000 supporters, which gave us a capacity of 8150, and our training facilities were upgraded as well.

We really had a lot of needs to take care of in this offseason. Starting from the back, we certainly needed at least one more goalkeeper to compete with Henriksen and Boström, preferably one with more experience than those two had. Our defense had been pretty solid – sixth-stingiest in the league – but another option or two in the middle wouldn’t go amiss, and Geir Teigen certainly needed a backup on the left side. The same went for Marcus Jönsson in midfield; the right side of midfield was covered reasonably well with Johan Bergström and Kristian Gjesdal, but one more player wouldn’t hurt. In the middle, we were in desperate need of a creative attacking force. And a good striker or two would be key if we wanted to be competitive in the First Division next year.

I had been sending out my scouts in recent weeks to catch up with players they’d pointed out months or years ago, to see if they were up to the standard we needed to bring in. And, of course, there were some they had just found recently that were out of contract whom we could bring in on trial.

Jens Gustavsson, who had had a mediocre loan spell with us, was the first of those players, and he showed sufficient skills to be offered a contract. The central midfielder or emergency defender took a pretty good penalty and was better than most that we had. And he was willing to sign as a backup so that’s one player in.

We brought in a young Finnish right winger named Jari Salmi on trial who played moderately well and was willing to sign for such reasonable wages that we took him on board for a year. Kiruna were his first professional club.

To shore up the defense, I made my first actual cash outlay for a player – 19-year-old Spanish center back Francisco Javier Soler, brought in from Västerås SK for 180,000 SEK. Very strong, pretty fast, and excellent in the air, he was looking to compete for some serious playing time.

Sometimes, though, players just can’t be bought for a reasonable price, and so I hit the loan market for some players I’d had scouted and secured the services of two of them for a year – left-sided midfielder Andreas Nilsson of Västra Frölunda, and versatile midfielder/attacker Vasilis Birbas from Hammarby, who had failed to appear in a single first-team game in his four years with the Premiership club. Nilsson would compete for time with Marcus Jönsson and I fully expected to start Birbas in the center of midfield.

The left-sided defensive backup problem was abated for the most part with the signing of Per Øyvind Iversen from Norwegian amateur club Skarbøvik. He cost us 70,000 SEK plus 30,000 after 10 caps for Norway, which I frankly wasn’t too concerned about – hell, if he ended up being an international, he’d be well worth the extra fee, but I couldn’t really see it happening. (Just to be clear, that’s the equivalent of £5,000 plus £2,000 after the caps). Per was a very solid all-around fullback and should prove an extremely capable player for the club.

I turned to Norway for my goalkeeper as well. 27-year-old Molde player Knut Dørum Lillebakk, who wasn’t seeing much time with the Tippeligaen club, joined us for 200,000 SEK and a promise that he could fight for a starting spot.

To increase the potency of our attacking line, I picked up two strikers. 27-year-old Joakim Bromander was signed from non-league Nassjö, where he had been on a rolling weekly contract for fully two years. No one, including us, who wanted to sign him had been able to afford the 10,000 SEK compensation owed to Nassjö, but finally with the money we had we snatched him up. Joakim was very pacey, a pretty good dribbler, and a hard worker, and signed as a backup. Magnus Svenning, 22 years old, came to us from Second Division Ljungby IF, where he had scored 38 goals over three seasons and 70 games. He cost us 500,000 SEK, but was a definite starter and should hopefully prove to be worth every bit of cash we paid for him. He had been Ljungby’s Supporters’ Player of the Year for three straight seasons.

Two Norwegian youth players joined the squad – utilityman Trond Haaland and defensive midfielder Runar Knutsen, each on one-year contracts. Also joining us for one year as a backup was half-Chilean, half-Swedish 28-year-old midfielder Paulo Bustamente, who could play anywhere across the midfield and should be useful for his versatility.

[kamikazecf]

Aftonbladet.se -> Fotboll

Superettan preview – 2006

Assyriska FF Last year: 12th

Transfers in: Kenneth Sandahl, Motala; Niklas Lundgren, Jönköping Södra

Transfers out: Karl Ståhl, Kalmar FF; Jonas Nygren, released

After putting together competitive squads in ’03 and ’04, manager Jan Sandberg’s side found themselves entrenched in a relegation fight in 2005; they avoided the drop by a mere 4 points. Their dropoff in performance was due largely to a porous defense that shipped 44 goals during the season, but they were perhaps victims of bad luck given their decent goal differential – 11 of their 14 losses were by a single goal. But the defense will not improve this season without further buys – the loss of influential veteran Karl Ståhl will hurt. And want-away Iraqi international defender Ghassan Heamed’s attitude won’t help – even if he has won Assyriska Supporters’ Player of the Year four of the last five seasons. New boy Sandahl will score goals if he’s given the opportunity, and the versatile Lundgren provides good depth anywhere on the field, but in the end this squad is nowhere near good enough to compete for promotion.

Key player: Johan Tainio, striker – Assyriska’s top scorer three of the last four years will need to keep banging them in if he is to keep his club up.

Predicted finish: 12th

***

IK Brage Last year: 11th

Transfers in: Stefan Berhane, Tord; Carlos Castellanos, free transfer

Transfers out: Lars Augustsson, Malmö Anadolu; Jens Gustavsson, released; Niklas Forsberg, IFK Luleå

Brage’s performance last season was largely consistent with most of their results under Ola Johansson as far as league position, but they went about getting their results a bit differently, with an explosive offense and a poor defense that has gotten no boost over the offseason. Improvement in their defense will depend largely on the fortunes of young defenders Eduard Gabeev and Dieter Nilsson. The midfield and attack should remain quite potent, so Brage will be no easy task for opponents, but quality sides should be able to dispatch them.

Key player: Magnus Korsgren, midfielder – The 26-year-old has all the talent in the world and is beginning to come into his prime, but has never been able to convert his talent into real production. He will have to be at his best if Brage are to be more competitive this season.

Predicted finish: 9th

***

IF Brommapojkarna Last year: 14th (Allsvenskan)

Transfers in: Joakim Bäck, Garda IK; Isak Fredén-Klenfeldt, Karlshamn; Nick Jordan, Arlanda; Tomas Oscarsson, Åhus Horna; Jonas Bylund, Luleå SK; Svante Dahlqvist, Eskiltuna City; Zoran Stojcevski, Café Opera; Richard Mathisen, free transfer; Anders Karlsson, Tidaholms GoIF; David Flink, Hallsberg; Henrik Olsson, free transfer

Transfers out: Johnny Gustavsson, released; Daniel Ahnström, released; Andreas Ackevi, GIF Sundsvall

Brommapojkarna found the Allsvenskan to be a bridge too far after their rapid ascent from Second Division obscurity as recently as 2002. They earned promotion from the Superettan in their second season there, and promptly relegated straight back after finishing bottom in 2005. Their problems in the top-flight were largely borne of their inability to score goals, with just 21 over the course of the season after scoring 48 the year before in the Superettan. Manager Benny Persson has also found it difficult to locate a reliable goalkeeper; he is hoping that incoming youngster Jonas Bylund from Luleå SK will fill that role. Certainly they should find it easier to score goals this season, and should be right there in the promotion fight all season. A tough young defense combined with new midfield talent will make them a formidable opponent for any side, but they lack pace and skill in the forward line, which may be their undoing.

Key player: David Flink, midfielder – The 25-year-old defensive midfielder joins the squad from non-league Hallsberg as Brommapojkarna’s highest-paid player. Expectations will therefore be high for him to not only break up opposition attacks, but start some of his own. He is a hard-working player and just might prove up to the task.

Predicted finish: 4th

***

Bunkeflo IF Last year: 1st (Second Division South Gotaland)

Transfers in: Staffan Lindh, free transfer; Bengt Sjöström, free transfer

Transfers out: Clas Eklund, released; Magnus Erlandsson, released; Magnus Persson, released; Håkan Ljung, released; Daniel Westlin, Öster

It’s easy to dismiss newly-promoted teams – and sometimes, as Falkenberg showed us last year, they do fail at the higher level. But Kiruna and especially Värtan proved that some teams can make themselves very difficult opponents for established Superettan teams. Bunkeflo may be able to do that. They already boast a goalie who may be one of the best in the division – and Staffan Falk is just 18! The back line is shaky, with left back Alexander Nuñez Coña the best of the bunch. Midfield is very solid in the center and poor on the wings, and attacking talent is in short supply, but manager Jan Jönsson has proven his ability to get the most out of his talent and they just might be able to avoid the drop. Their largest obstacle will be their financial difficulties, which will make it virtually impossible to bring in new talent over the course of the season. Realistically, they’ll probably go back down, but the prediction here is that they’ll make a good fight of it.

Key player: Staffan Falk, goalkeeper – He’s got maturity beyond his years, and he’ll need every bit of it if he’s to pull off a miracle and keep his squad up.

Predicted finish: 14th

[kamikazecf]

FC Café Opera/Djursholms IF Last year: 7th

Transfers in: Andreas Dahlman, free transfer; Patrik Mattsson, Tullinge TP

Transfers out: Filip Bergman, released; Andreas Lifbom, released; Zoran Stojcevski, Brommapojkarna; Mats Kallström, released

Café Opera have been a mediocre Superettan side and nothing more in recent years under Claes Ericsson. A good run of results at the end of last season lifted them out of the relegation scrum and into the middle of the table. The defense is solid, the midfield is good, and the attackers are average, which should see them through another season much like last year.

Key player: Mattias Moström, midfielder – The best of a good bunch will be counted on to provide the majority of chances for a striking squad that needs all the help it can get.

Predicted finish: 8th

***

Göteborgs AIS Last year: 1st (Second Division West Gotaland)

Transfers in: Kristian Johansson, Mariestad; Tobias Linne, Malmö Anadolu; Johan Holmberg, Halmia; Gustav Sandberg, Malmö Anadolu; Mikael Danielsson, free transfer

Transfers out: Olof Magnusson, Elfsborg; Fredrik Lundgren, Hammarby; Maher Hussin, released; Ilyas Saglamoglu, released; Jörgen Hellqvist, released

This club, which has quite the illustrious history, bounced straight back up to the Superettan at the first attempt – no easy task for any team, but this one was particularly talented. While the exodus of players to Allsvenskan teams serves to show both the level of skill that the club had and the amount that they have lost, it’s also true that they still have some very good players and that manager Tomas Lasu has brought in some good reinforcements to help solidify GAIS’s status in the Superettan. The defense is this team’s strength, but they have a good striker in Tomas Johansson who’s scored 63 goals over the past four years and has earned four straight Supporters’ Player of the Year accolades.

Key player: Mikael Danielsson, left back – The 31-year-old signed after being released by Allsvenskan side Trelleborg, he’s far and away the best player on the team and will be counted on for defense, assists, free kicks, and corners, as well as a calming veteran influence on a generally young team.

Predicted finish: 10th

***

BK Häcken Last year: 9th

Transfers in: Daniel Wiberg, free transfer; Peter Hiir-Salakka, free transfer; Jörgen Haglund, Varbergs BoIS; Henrik Johansson, Gefle

Transfers out: Thomas Hvenfeldt, Jonsered; Magnus Andersson, released; Filip Apelstav, Farnborough (ENG); Niklas Svensson, released; Kaj Andersson, Stenhousemuir (SCO)

The Göteborg side put together a 9-goal net improvement from 2004 to ’05 – three more scored, six fewer allowed – and converted it into just three more points. None of the outgoing transfers will truly be missed – Magnus Andersson and Filip Apelstav have talent, but neither were used regularly by manager Lallo Fernandez in any case. Likewise, the incoming transfers should make little impact, veteran midfielder Peter Hiir-Salakka being the most likely to improve the squad. They are a talented club, but have seemed unabled to take advantage of that talent in recent years. All in all, they are certainly not bad enough to relegate, but are equally unlikely to promote unless they can find a way to maximize the production they get out of the talent they have.

Key player: Henrik Dahl, defender – Underrated veteran has been with Häcken since 1995 and has never failed to play fewer than 20 games in a season. His steady performances were the reason for Häcken’s stingy defense last term and they’ll look for him to keep it up with a minimum of fuss.

Predicted finish: 5th

***

IFK Malmö Last year: 4th

Transfers in: Erol Puroski, Skjervøy (NOR)

Transfers out: Jimmy Olsson, Gateshead (ENG); Jörgen Svensson, Farnborough (ENG); Martin Karlsson, B 1909 (DEN); Jimmi Sjöstrand, released; Ivan Joelsson, released; Nino Cooper, released; Anders Jermail, FC Aarhus (DEN)

After finding themselves positioned for promotion throughout most of 2005, IFK faded late, dropping points to the likes of Café Opera, Assyriska, Landskrona, and Kiruna en route to a disappointing fourth-place finish – a point away from the promotion playoffs. There’s talent all around the pitch at the disposal of manager Patrick Johansson, but that will diminish significantly if he honors the transfer request of Sierra Leone striker Eddy Lopez, who is rumored to be drawing interest from AIK, among other clubs. IFK, who share a ground with Allsvenskan powers Malmö FF, are in somewhat dire financial straits and promotion would do wonders to help them out.

Key player: Magnus Eriksson, striker – For all the hoopla about Lopez, Eriksson has been IFK’s leading goalscorer for the past four seasons. Now on the wrong side of 30 by two years, Eriksson will need to keep up his scoring prowess, especially if Lopez leaves.

Predicted finish: 3rd

[kamikazecf]

Kiruna FF Last year: 13th

Transfers in: Jens Gustavsson, free transfer; Jari Salmi, free transfer; Francisco Javier Soler, Västerås SK; Per Øyvind Iversen, Skarbøvik (NOR); Knut Dørum Lillebakk, Molde (NOR); Joakim Bromander, Nassjö; Magnus Svensson, Ljungby; Paulo Bustamente, free transfer; Runar Knutsen, free transfer; Trond Haaland, free transfer

Transfers out: Dagfinn Solbakken, Nationalkameratene (NOR); Stefan Sjöbom, released; Erik Lantto, released

Kiruna’s debut season in the Superettan ended satisfactorily in the sense that they got to stay there. A squad composed of Second Division hangers-on and youth signings managed to put together enough results of significance to keep them up, and they look to do considerably better this year backed by a good sum of money from new chairman Tobias Alm. The only real standout on last year’s squad was Norwegian fullback Geir Teigen, who was 19 at the beginning of the 2005 season and was the most consistently good performer on the team despite a heavy workload for such a young player. Manager Zac DesAutels has brought in a capable backup for him in Per Øyvind Iversen. New goalkeeper Knut Dørum Lillebakk should play a large role, getting some starts ahead of the temperamental Frode Henriksen. Kiruna have secured the services of Hammarby’s Vasilis Birbas and Västra Frölunda’s Andreas Nilsson on a year’s loan, and new striking duo Joakim Bromander and Magnus Svensson will provide a physical presence up front that Niklas Löfgren, Juha Tuominen, and Joakim Gunillsson did not have. Overall, this team is much improved from last year and should have no trouble staying up, although promotion is a bit much to ask.

Key player: Magnus Svensson, striker – A club-record purchase from Ljungby, Svensson has a lot of pressure on his 22-year-old shoulders to ensure that Kiruna do not go through the dry spells that they endured at times last season.

Predicted finish: 7th

***

Mjällby AIF Last year: 13th (Allsvenskan)

Transfers in: Antonio Novo, free transfer; Jakob Augustsson, free transfer; Filip Bergman, free transfer; Johan Andersson, free transfer

Transfers out: Kaj Eskelainen, released; Peter Hiir-Salakka, released

Frankly it’s stunning that Mjällby managed to relegate last term with the amount of talent available to them. It’s also pretty shocking that manager Hans Larsson still has a job. But no matter; this team, despite their financial difficulties, should walk over the Superettan and bounce straight back up. They’ve got a very good goalkeeper in 21-year-old Gustav Gustavsson, a fantastic defense anchored by fullback Jakob Augustsson, a midfield led by cultured ex-Sweden international Pär Zetterberg, and a forward line that adds Spanish phenom Antonio Novo to a talented group that includes Linus Isberg and Dan Olofsson. And that’s without even mentioning the excellent Johan Svensson, a winger who would likely be looking at a Sweden callup were he still playing in the Allsvenskan. If he sticks with Mjällby, he shouldn’t have long to wait before he’s back up.

Key player: Pär Zetterberg, midfielder – On a club that should theoretically be much better than its opposition on any given day, it’s important to have a veteran presence who can calm his team down and spur them on to greater efforts if the match isn’t going exactly to plan. Zetterberg will have to be that man for Mjällby if things start going awry.

Predicted finish: 1st

***

Sandvikens IF Last year: 8th

Transfers in: Mikael Lindén, Nykvarn

Transfers out: Lars-Inge Berntsson, released; Johan Pettersson, released; Niklas Larsson, released; Janne Berg, released

This is a club whose Superettan status is in severe trouble, despite their 8th-place finish last term. They have no dominant defenders, no creative midfielders, and no truly dangerous attackers – in fact, their best attacker is Erik Haglund, who refuses to play anywhere but in the center of defense. Manager (and ex-Sweden international) Sulo Vaattovaara will do everything he can to keep his club up, but with little to no financial backing and – to put it bluntly – a poor squad, he will likely find it an impossible task.

Key player: Robert Holmqvist, midfielder/striker – The closest thing Sandvikens have to a dangerman up front, Holmqvist had the physical skills to perform much better for them than he has in the past – never in his three years with the club has he scored more than 7 goals for Sandvikens in the league. They will need a much larger contribution from him in order to stay up.

Predicted finish: 16th

***

Torslanda IK Last year: 1st (Second Division West Svealand)

Transfers in: Johan Larsson, free transfer

Transfers out: Peter Andersson, Forfar (SCO); Christer Öberg, released; Karabey Ayan, released; Joakim Levin, Nörrkoping

After winning promotion from the Second Division with a 4-3 aggregate comeback win over heavily favored Gimonäs in the promotion playoff, Torslanda will find it very difficult to consolidate their newfound status. They are victims of a severe lack of midfield skill, and if they do stay up, it will be dangerous frontman Alexander Necovski who will do most of the work for them. He scored 26 goals from 27 starts last season and has never scored fewer than 11 in a season during his four years with the club. Torslanda’s only other player who is clearly above-average is right-sided fullback Jon Stockhaus, 25 years of age, who got his first real opportunity with the first team last season and did not disappoint. Torslanda are extremely well-coached by Roberto Jacobsson and have an indomitable fighting spirit about them, but they seem to simply lack the skill needed to compete in the Superettan.

Key player: Alexander Necovski, striker – Fast, skillful on the ball, and an excellent finisher, he is Torslanda’s only hope of survival this year. The biggest threat to Necovski, as far as Torslanda are concerned, may not be opposition defenses but rather Allsvenskan clubs interested in obtaining his services.

Predicted finish: 15th

[kamikazecf]

Umeå FC Last year: 5th

Transfers in: Savo Drobac, free transfer; Patrick Höglund, free transfer

Transfers out: Anders Dahl, released; Göran Sundqvist, released; Stefan Andreasson, released; Johan Nylund, released; Åke Johansson, Helsingborg

A good team last year gets better, having cut loose some of the dead wood and added two strong players. They have two good goalkeepers, with Rickard Claesson looking as though he will see the majority of the playing time. The defense should be virtually impregnable, anchored by Erik Sandvärn. Umeå’s greatest weakness is in the center of midfield, where 36-year-old Jesper Bengtsson is the best they have to offer. Young Sasha Hakami is listed for loan, but looks a good player and may just get a chance sometime this year. The strikers are fantastic, with skillful new boy Savo Drobac thrown into the mix with Anton Holmberg, Alberto, Patrick Kwesi Anoff, and Pablo Andersson. Manager Anders Attefjord should be able to pick a pair of those who can play well on any given day.

Key player: Daniel Pettersson, right wing – Daniel did not play particularly well last season. Certainly not up to the level of his talent, but he is the best that Umeå have to offer as far as creating chances for the forward line, and somebody has to get the ball to them. Pettersson will have to be that person if Umeå are to capitalize on their good promotion chance.

Predicted finish: 2nd

***

Värtans IK Last year: 3rd

Transfers in: Stefan Claesson, free transfer; Khasha Azizollahi, Skillingaryd

Transfers out: Staffan Nordenstam, released; Carl Ekstrand, released; Ulf Hedlund, released

Last year, in their first season after winning the Second Division West Svealand, Värtan gave Hammarby a real scare in the promotion/relegation playoff before succumbing 2-0 on aggregate. Did they play over their heads? Somewhat, yes. Although top scorer Oscar Toivanen can be expected to repeat his 13-goal performance of last season, the central defensive pairing of Jimmy Linder and Omar Berger will probably drop off in performance somewhat. Khasha Azizollahi is a good acquisition and will help the fullbacks somewhat. The wings are relatively decent, but there’s virtually no talent in the center of midfield and Toivanen is largely alone in his toilings up front. Still, a team that performed as well as they did last season cannot be written off easily, and with enthusiastic young manager Stefan Linder leading them, they should put in a good battle this time around.

Key player: Alex Wickman, defender/midfielder – Wickman is a very versatile player who was only slightly above-average last year. He is capable of more, and if he gives it to them, Värtan may be capable of another promotion push.

Predicted finish: 6th

***

Västerås SK Last year: 10th

Transfers in: Markus Landin, Kalmar FF

Transfers out: David Curtolo, Purfleet (ENG); Francisco Javier Soler, Kiruna; Roger Magnusson, Öster

After a 3rd-place finish in 2004 and a playoff loss to Hammarby, Västerås’ offense remained largely the same, but their defense gave up 10 more goals over the course of the seasons, wins turned to draws, and they dropped to 10th place when all was said and done. Manger Kent Karlsson has failed to improve that defense over this offseason, and in fact has lost two very promising young defenders on the transfer market. They do have a good veteran goalkeeper, Norwegian Tore Snørteland, but their defensive depth is laughable. If anything happens to Karl Svensson, they’re in big trouble. There is a pretty good midfield in place led by Russian Peter Sedunov and Fredrik Stenman, and Isaac Nkubi is a particularly dangerous attacker. Still, their weakness at the back should see them to a finish closer to last year’s than that of 2004.

Key player: Karl Svensson, defender – Not so much for his performances, because everyone knows those will be stellar. But if he’s injured – as he was for a month last season – or suspended, Västerås have virtually no one to cover for him.

Predicted finish: 11th

***

Västra Frölunda IF Last year: 6th

Transfers in: None

Transfers out: Martin Jyrkin, released; Fredrik Björck, Halmstad; Björn Stringheim, released; Robin Westerberg, released; Henrik Byström, Hammarby; Karl Bergdahl, Öster

What was a pretty good team last term has gotten considerably worse during the close season, particularly at the back. The losses of central defender Fredrik Björck and right fullback Karl Bergdahl, both starters last season, will hurt badly. With no reinforcements brought in to replace them, there will be a lot of pressure on Kalle Hamfeldt and Henrik Larsson to perform. The midfield is not strikingly good or bad; left winger Dorde Uzelac and central man Alexander Tare lead the unit. Manager Ruben Svensson will pick from Arash Talebinejad, Andreas Skogdalen, and Bo Jönsson for his striking pair.

Key player: Daniel Falk, defender – The 18-year-old is one to watch – if Svensson gives him a chance in the first team. By all accounts, he is a fantastically skilled player and would acquit himself well at the top level, but Svensson is notoriously cautious and may not be willing to throw Falk into the fire at such a young age.

Predicted finish: 13th

[kamikazecf]

The 2006 season in the Superettan kicked off on Saturday, April 8, with the visit of Café Opera to GAIS. It was a good, very even game that the visitors won 3-2.

The fixture guys handed us what looked like an extremely easy opening to the season, at home against newly promoted Bunkeflo. The starting lineup was based primarily on who performed the best in our four preseason games (all victories – 3-1, 3-1, 1-0, and 4-1 over Eskiltuna City, Torslanda, Café Opera, and Häcken, respectively) which meant that four players saw their debut in our opening league fixture – Knut Dørum Lillebakk, Francisco Javier Soler, Magnus Svensson, and Vasilis Birbas. Joakim Bromander and Per Øyvind Iversen made the bench.

9.4.2006 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna

First Division Game 1: Kiruna (last year: 13th) vs. Bunkeflo IF (last year: 1st, D2 South Gotaland)

Last meeting: -; overall vs. Bunkeflo IF: -

K. Lillebakk; T. Johnsen, F. Soler, R. Kjellin ©, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, V. Birbas, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, M. Svensson. Subs: F. Henriksen, P. Iversen, J. Gustavsson, K. Gjesdal, J. Bromander

Nearly 5,000 expectant fans came out to see the new and improved Kiruna squad start their ’06 season. This was a Kiruna record for attendance, and the gate receipts proved to be a record high as well – not bad for a game in which there were literally no traveling supporters. It seemed Bunkeflo fans were indigenous only to their hometown of Malmö, and none of them had the time/inclination/capacity to travel the entire length of Sweden on a Saturday afternoon to take in some footy. So it was an extremely partisan crowd, but for the first 15 minutes or so, they were given nothing to work with – Bunkeflo were not playing quite as cynically as I had expected, but we were finding it difficult to break them down nonetheless – perhaps there was some difficulty adjusting to the new players in the side.

The first scoring chance actually fell to Bunkeflo’s pacey veteran Andreas Thulin, though his long-range shot sailed high and wide. It was only after that incident that Kiruna seemed to click. Nineteen minutes in, Thomas Johnsen, Johan Bergström, and Vasilis Birbas combined to set up Marcus Jönsson for a shot, which went wide. But it was pretty, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Shortly afterward, it was the same three players who worked together, this time setting up Joakim Gunillasson for a header that didn’t miss. 1-0 to the good.

Magnus Svensson, not to be overshadowed on his debut, took a pass from Bergström a few minutes later and dribbled past three Bunkeflo defenders before rifling a left-footed shot past Staffan Falk, the excellent young Bunkeflo goalkeeper. It was a lovely striker’s goal, one the likes of which was rarely seen last season, and it sent the home supporters into raptures.

It wasn’t for lack of effort, but after we scored twice it was clear that the visitors were simply outclassed. By the end of the game, Knut Dørum Lillebakk had not had to make a single save. Falk, on the other hand, saved 11 shots in the aftermath of our two goals – in no way could Bunkeflo blame their loss on him! No less than five of his saves were from Magnus Svensson shots, all of them powerful, and he also denied Vasilis Birbas three times. Falk's heroic efforts drew enthusiastic applause from the home crowd, in fact – although I doubt not that their reaction would have been different had the score been 0-0!

Kiruna 2-0 Bunkeflo IF

J. Gunillasson 23’ (V. Birbas); M. Svensson 26’ (J. Bergström)

Subs: J. Gustavsson for N. Labba, 87’

Misc.: G. Teigen, yellow card, 54’

Man of the Match: Magnus Svensson, Kiruna (10 – goal, 6 shots on target, 11 runs)

Att.: 4961

***

Hell of a debut from Magnus! I tell you what, if that’s Sven’s son, well, I’d sure like to shake the hand of Sven. While our game went as expected, at least as far as the result was concerned, the Superettan was somewhat turned on its ear with the rest of the first round’s results. Assyriska handled Umeå FC easily enough, 2-0 at home. Mjällby were held to a nil-nil draw at home by Västerås SK. Perhaps most shockingly, Torslanda prevailed 5-3 over IFK Malmö to take the top spot after one game! IFK had a player sent off on 20 minutes, but Torslanda still dominated perhaps more than they should have, even with the man advantage.

[kamikazecf]

Next up for us was a match at Brage, who had ground out a tough 2-1 win at Sandvikens in their first game. I stuck with the same lineup despite Robert Kjellin’s subpar performance in the Bunkeflo game – the skipper gets a bit of leeway, I guess.

16.4.2006 at Domnarvsvallen, Borlänge

First Division Game 2: Brage (6th) vs. Kiruna (3rd)

Last meeting: Kiruna 1-2 Brage; overall vs. Brage: 0W-0D-2L

K. Lillebakk; T. Johnsen, F. Soler, R. Kjellin ©, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, V. Birbas, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, M. Svensson. Subs: F. Henriksen, P. Iversen, J. Gustavsson, K. Gjesdal, J. Bromander

This match looked to be considerably more difficult than our last one – Brage were markedly better than Bunkeflo skill-wise, and we’d never beaten them. The home fans were hoping – indeed, expecting – that that trend would continue. The match got off to a cracking start and Nils Johan Labba nearly had Kiruna ahead after six minutes, his powerful header from a Johan Bergström cross being well saved. The first goal came directly after that. A powerful punt from Claes Green went directly to the skillful Magnus Korsgren, who skipped past Geir Teigen and Rob Kjellin before shooting powerfully past Knut Dørum Lillebakk with his left.

A goal down but not really being outplayed, Kiruna rectified matters a minute later when Thomas Johnsen set up Joakim Gunillasson for his second goal in two games. Four minutes after that, we vaulted ahead. Labba gave Magnus Svensson a fine opportunity to score, which he blasted right at the goalie. But he couldn’t hold on to it and Vasilis Birbas was on it immediately to pitch in with his first goal for the club. 2-1 Kiruna now, just 12 minutes in!

The pace of the match didn’t slacken a bit, but the goals disappeared for awhile until coming back before the end of the first half. In the interim, Lillebakk had to make a pair of nice saves, Svensson shot once over the bar and forced two saves, and Brage put a shot just outside of the left post.

Thirty-eight minutes in, Svensson got a chance to redeem himself for his earlier misses and didn’t fail. It was a very simple run-and-cross from Marcus Jönsson that the striker rose highest to head in and give Kiruna a 3-1 lead. But of course Brage couldn’t let it rest at that, and Korsgren provided the impetus for their next goal, scored by Daniel Möller four minutes before the break. The supporters tensed excitedly as the whistle approached, but the score remained 3-2 at halftime.

The second half had a lot to do to live up to the standard set by the first, and it certainly did its damndest. Gunillasson scored his second of the game to re-up the margin to two goals in the 52nd minute, unassisted. Brage came fighting right back and after putting a shot wide, they scored in the 69th when Korsgren – damn him! – set up Jimmy Rajala. 4-3 Kiruna.

Jönsson forced a good save from Green shortly afterwards and Möller put another shot wide for Brage before Gunillasson nearly finished off his hat trick with a 20-yard drive towards the top right corner that Green flew to save. A pair of staggered substitutions for Kiruna took place for different reasons – Per Øyvind Iversen made his debut on for the tiring Geir Teigen, and Jens Gustavsson replaced the injured Vasilis Birbas – but the game was getting to its late stages without another goal coming. A late Thomas Johnsen yellow card resulted in a Brage free kick that the Child Molester deflected, but after the rebound was sent back in to Möller, he evidently decided that after missing more chances than he hit before, his best course was to dive, as if Lillebakk had clipped him. Replays clearly showed it was, in fact, an illegitimate penalty, which was evident to virtually everyone at the ground aside from the referee – but his decision stood, the penalty was dispatched, and the game finally came to a close with the final score a 4-4 draw.

Brage 4-4 Kiruna

M. Korsgren 7’; J. Gunillasson 8’ (T. Johnsen), 52’; V. Birbas 12’; M. Svensson 38’ (M. Jönsson); D. Moller 41’; J. Rajala 69’; D. Nilsson pen 88’

Subs: P. Iversen for G. Teigen, 82’; J. Gustavsson for V. Birbas 87’

Misc.: J. Bergström, yellow card, 14’; T. Johnsen, yellow card, 88’

Man of the Match: Joakim Gunillasson, Kiruna (9 – 2 goals)

Att.: 4762

***

Cracker of a match. Damn. The draw kept us 3rd, as the team with the most goals scored of the four-pointers. More shocking results, though: Café Opera defeated Brommapojkarna at home to take second place, but the big one was really big. IFK Malmö lost again... this time at home... to Assyriska... 5-1. My goodness. And so it is on the back of two embarrassing losses that IFK Malmö will be venturing all the way north to Lombiavallen in search of their first league points. I’m not sure if we should be pleased at their poor start, or very afraid.

[kamikazecf]

Vasilis Birbas’ injury looked to keep him out for three weeks or so, and Knut Dørum Lillebakk’s performance in goal certainly didn’t warrant retaining him for another week, so there were some alterations made to the lineup ahead of the IFK Malmö matchup. With Robert Kjellin on the bench, we needed a new captain for this game, and Magnus Svensson took on the role.

23.4.2006 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna

First Division Game 3: Kiruna (3rd) vs. IFK Malmö (16th)

Last meeting: Kiruna 1-1 IFK Malmö; overall vs. IFK Malmö: 0W-1D-1L

F. Henriksen; T. Johnsen, F. Soler, F. Langseth, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, J. Gustavsson, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, M. Svensson ©. Subs: K. Lillebakk, P. Iversen, R. Kjellin, P. Bustamente, J. Bromander

This match was decidedly slower-paced than our last one, which was probably good for my heart’s sake. The first real chance was a header off the post for the visitors, but the first goal was ours – Magnus Svensson’s third in three games, 33 minutes into the match. ‘Twas a quality header off of a lob from Jens Gustavsson, who was playing well in place of Vasilis Birbas.

It was only four minutes later that Svensson returned the favor, heading a ball down to the charging Gustavsson’s feet; the midfielder lashed it easily in for a 2-0 lead. Eddy Lopez assisted on a goal right away for IFK Malmö, sending a free kick right to Dennis Eriksson for him to poke in. But we had our own free kick opportunity just before halftime, and Marcus Jönsson eschewed the role of playmaker, instead choosing to shoot from 20 yards out. It proved a good decision and resulted in Kiruna taking a 3-1 lead into halftime.

The dangerous Claudio Covarrubias came on to partner Eddy Lopez in attack for the second half and most of the period was spent dodging bullets from those two. Fortunately Frode Henriksen wasn’t tested much, but that was more due to the poor quality of their shots rather than any virtue of our defense. The biggest problem with the second half was the early injury to Thomas Johnsen – Johan Bergström dropped back to defense and Paulo Bustamente made his debut on the right wing. He played well. Anyway, IFK Malmö only got one of the two goals they needed, and that one was in the 89th minute, so the 3-2 win was pretty safe. It was our first win against this opposition and extended their miserable run to start the season.

Kiruna 3-2 IFK Malmö

M. Svensson 33’ (J. Gustavsson); J. Gustavsson 37’ (M. Svensson); D. Nilsson 39’; M. Jönsson 45’; D. Lukanic 89’

Subs: P. Bustamente for T. Johnsen, 50’

Misc.: -

Man of the Match: Jens Gustavsson, Kiruna (9 – goal, assist)

Att.: 4872

***

Frankly I had been worried about that game, and we were sort of outplayed, but you can’t argue with results. Frode Henriksen didn’t perform particularly well either and so it will be a tough decision next week as to whether I should recall Knut back into the squad, leave Frode there, or bring in Jonatan Boström. A couple more surprising results this round – first-placed Assyriska won again, 2-0 at Västra Frölunda; Bunkeflo went to Café Opera and came away with a smash-and-grab 2-1 win; and Västerås came away from a game at Brommapojkarna with a dominant 2-0 victory. Mjällby prevailed 2-0 over Torslanda to take over second place and have not conceded a goal through three games. We retained third.

[kamikazecf]

Good news – back when we sold Mikko Vikeväinen (remember him? Sucky goalie) to Väsby in 2003, there was a clause in there that we get 10,000 SEK once he’d played in 20 league games for them. Well, he did, and they paid up. Looks like he’s kept clean sheets in both of Väsby’s Second Division games so far – good for him!

Our next match was against Umeå FC, who like our last opponents had had a difficult start to the season with only one point from three games. With Thomas Johnsen not quite able to regain full fitness before the game, Marcus Lindmark was going to start, and Jonatan Boström’s enthusiastic performances in training earned him the start in goal.

30.4.2006 at Gamliavallen, Umeå

First Division Game 4: Umeå FC (15th) vs. Kiruna (3rd)

Last meeting: Kiruna 1-2 Umeå FC; overall vs. Umeå FC: 0W-0D-2L

J. Boström; M. Lindmark, R. Kjellin ©, F. Soler, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, J. Gustavsson, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Gunillasson, M. Svensson. Subs: K. Lillebakk, P. Iversen, F. Langseth, P. Bustamente, J. Bromander

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sanguine about starting Boström, so it was immensely relieving when he looked perfectly good making his first save early on in the game. Umeå threatened our goal again before we put together an opportunity, but their next shot went wide. Our first shot was far better; Marcus Jönsson’s 20-yard free kick sailed into the top right corner for a 1-0 lead after 28 minutes.

Boström was called on to make three more saves in the next ten minutes, which he did. Unfortunately, the third was from a free kick that was ordered to be retaken, and he was not able to save the retake. The last chance before halftime belonged to Francisco Javier Soler, but his header was saved and held and we went into the break with the score knotted up.

The beginning of the second half didn’t yield anything; Magnus Svensson had a nice header saved and Jonatan Boström skillfully snatched a cross out of midair. On the hour mark, I decided that Joakim Gunillasson was finally playing poorly enough to justify giving Joakim Bromander his Kiruna debut. He was pretty quickly involved, but got pushed so he couldn’t finish off the run he was making.

As time went on, Kiruna were taking command of the match, but it looked as though Umeå might be able to hold out for the draw. But Magnus Svensson is just too darned good to let that happen. 83 minutes gone, there was a lovely passing sequence involving Bromander, Gustavsson, and Jönsson which ended in a magnificently well-struck goal by Svensson – his fourth in four games for the club. Umeå were well beaten and we nearly won it 3-1 except Bromander’s late header went over the bar. He’d played quite well, though.

Umeå FC 1-2 Kiruna

M. Jönsson 28’; H. Folkesson 38’; M. Svensson 83’ (M. Jönsson)

Subs: J. Bromander for J. Gunillasson, 60’; P. Bustamente for N. Labba, 81’

Misc.: -

Man of the Match: Marcus Jönsson, Kiruna (8 – goal, assist)

Att.: 4823

***

Any supporters who had doubted the skill of Magnus Svensson had those fears laid to rest after he scored yet again and earned himself a nickname – Magic!

Assyriska won again, but at least they were supposed to this time as they were playing against Torslanda.

[kamikazecf]

Vasilis Birbas passed a late fitness test before our game at home to Västerås SK and so he returned to the lineup in place of Nils Johan Labba. Frank Langseth was drafted in to replace off-form Robert Kjellin and Joakim Bromander got his first start, replacing Joakim Gunillasson.

7.5.2006 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna

First Division Game 5: Kiruna (3rd) vs. Västerås SK (5th)

Last meeting: Kiruna 1-1 Västerås SK; overall vs. Västerås SK: 0W-2D-0L

J. Boström; M. Lindmark, F. Langseth, F. Soler, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, V. Birbas, J. Gustavsson, M. Jönsson; J. Bromander, M. Svensson ©. Subs: K. Lillebakk, P. Iversen, B. Andersson, P. Bustamente, N. Löfgren

The first half was a story of missed opportunities for both teams. Vasilis Birbas had the first shot of the game but put it over the bar; twice Jonatan Boström was forced into saves by the Västerås attack. Bromander headed over from a Magnus Svensson cross, and that was about as close as Kiruna came during the opening period. Birbas unfortunately aggravated his previous injury just before the whistle and was replaced by Paulo Bustamente.

Kiruna began the second half brightly and there was some meaningful actions relatively quickly. Marcus Jönsson, dribbling along the left flank, had it tackled away from him for a throw-in. Geir Teigen took it swiftly, giving it straight to Jönsson. The winger knocked it back to Teigen first time and watched as the fullback sent in a lovely cross for Joakim Bromander to head home – his first Kiruna goal, 47 minutes in.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, Kiruna regained possession straight away after the kickoff and a move involving Bustamente, Jens Gustavsson, and Svensson ended with the striker being pushed over in the area for a penalty. Teigen promptly ran up to take it – brooking no argument from Gustavsson, who fancied himself a fine shooter – and send the goalie the wrong way to double our lead.

Bustamente was having a good game and ripped off a good shot not too long afterwards that forced a save, but that was the last real effort of the game we could muster. Västerås didn’t have much in the tank either, managing only a good shot from Henrik Jannborg that was well saved by the sprightly young Boström. With a little more than ten minutes left to play, Bustamente went down injured and so Per Øyvind Iversen got to play a little bit of central midfield until time expired.

Kiruna 2-0 Västerås SK

J. Bromander 47’ (G. Teigen); G. Teigen pen 48’ (M. Svensson)

Subs: P. Bustamente for V. Birbas, 45’; P. Iversen for P. Bustamente, 79’

Misc.: J. Bromander, yellow card, 67’; F. Langseth, yellow card, 74’

Man of the Match: Geir Teigen, Kiruna (10 – goal, assist, 9 tackles/3 key)

Att.: 4645

***

Pretty solid win over a team we hadn’t beaten before sees us remain in third place even after the next week’s Saturday games:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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1st Assyriska 5 1 1 0 5 3 3 0 0 10 2 13

2nd Mjällby 5 2 1 0 5 2 2 0 0 5 1 13

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3rd ***Kiruna*** 5 3 0 0 7 2 1 1 0 6 5 13

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4th Västra Frölunda 6 2 0 1 3 2 1 1 1 2 2 10

5th Värtan 5 2 0 1 4 3 0 2 0 1 1 8

6th Västerås SK 5 1 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 8

7th Brage 5 0 2 0 6 6 2 0 1 6 6 8

8th Bunkeflo IF 6 0 2 1 1 2 2 0 1 3 3 8

9th Café Opera 5 1 1 1 4 4 1 0 1 4 4 7

10th GAIS 5 1 1 1 7 6 0 2 0 1 1 6

11th Häcken 5 1 0 1 2 3 0 2 1 3 5 5

12th Sandvikens IF 5 1 1 1 4 4 0 0 2 1 5 4

13th Torslanda 5 1 0 1 6 6 0 0 3 0 4 3

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14th IFK Malmö 5 1 0 1 4 5 0 0 3 7 11 3

15th Brommapojkarna 5 0 1 2 1 4 0 1 1 3 4 2

16th Umeå FC 5 0 0 2 1 4 0 1 2 3 6 1 </pre>

[kamikazecf]

Bustamente and Birbas were both definite scratches for our next game, which was away to Häcken. Jens Gustavsson was also out, having injured his groin during training, and with Kenneth Haglund nursing an ankle injury our midfield depth would really be tested during this one.

There were two changes to our defense with Björn Andersson and Thomas Johnsen replacing Frank Langseth and Marcus Lindmark, respectively. In the midfield, Runar Knutsen made his debut alongside Nils Johan Labba in the middle. Andreas Nilsson took Bustamente’s spot on the bench on the theory that Marcus Jönsson would be a better midfield “sub†than Ståle Merkesdal.

14.5.2006 at Rambergsvallen, Göteborg

First Division Game 6: Häcken (11th) vs. Kiruna (3rd)

Last meeting: Kiruna 4-1 Häcken (friendly); overall vs. Häcken: 3W-0D-0L

J. Boström; T. Johnsen, F. Soler, B. Andersson, G. Teigen; J. Bergström, N. Labba, R. Knutsen, M. Jönsson; J. Bromander, M. Svensson. Subs: K. Lillebakk, P. Iversen, R. Kjellin, A. Nilsson, N. Löfgren

A tough game that Häcken shaded all along. Our defense played well as a unit and Jonatan Boström was again spectacular but it was increasingly apparent that Runar Knutsen wasn’t up to it during this particular match, and our weak midfield had a hard time competing. Late substitutions were ineffectual and when Niklas Löfgren was injured shortly after coming on for Bromander, we were pretty definitely not going to score. Robert Kjellin came on to play up front in his place, Häcken finally got past Boström after he’d saved five shots a couple minutes later, and we had our first loss of the season – and first-ever defeat against Häcken.

Häcken 1-0 Kiruna

N. Demba-Nyrén 77’

Subs: A. Nilsson for R. Knutsen, 69’; N. Löfgren for J. Bromander, 69’; R. Kjellin for N. Löfgren, 74’

Misc.: M. Svensson, yellow card, 65’; B. Andersson, yellow card, 90’

Man of the Match: Tobias Hysén, Häcken

Att.: 4704

***

We stayed in third, although Brage were now only two points back of us. The showdown at Assyriska in which they took on second-placed Mjällby ended in a 3-3 stalemate – a match from which the visitors were unlucky not to take all three points. At the other end of the table, Umeå FC eked out a 1-0 win over Brommapojkarna to jump above them into 15th place.

[kamikazecf]

Ståle Merkesdal stepped in for Runar Knutsen during our next game. Playing at home against Mjällby would surely help us learn whether we were serious promotion contenders or just an average team on a hot streak. Assyriska had drawn away at GAIS during a Saturday game, so either of us could leapfrog them into first with a win.

21.5.2006 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna

First Division Game 7: Kiruna (3rd) vs. Mjällby (2nd)

Last meeting: -; overall vs. Mjällby: -

J. Boström; T. Johnsen, F. Soler, B. Andersson, G. Teigen; K. Gjesdal, N. Labba, S. Merkesdal, M. Jönsson; J. Bromander, M. Svensson ©. Subs: F. Henriksen, P. Iversen, R. Kjellin, A. Nilsson, J. Tuominen

Mjällby came out attacking and forced a save out of Jonatan Boström 12 minutes in. Shortly afterward, Geir Teigen was called upon to block a shot that would’ve gone in had the studly young Norwegian not been there. And that was pretty much all Mjällby could come up with.

We drove them back into their own half pretty effectively and forced a pair of saves (shots from Gjesdal and Labba) before the period was over. The second half continued the developing trend; Marcus Jönsson had a shot from a free kick saved and also set up a Joakim Bromander header that forced another block from their goalkeeper.

Andreas Nilsson came on for the ineffective Kristian Gjesdal but wasn’t a whole lot better; the only other substitution of the game was forced when Francisco Javier Soler sustained an ankle injury and was replaced by Kjellin. Ståle Merkesdal was playing moderately well and actually got off a fine shot late in the game which was saved; in the dying seconds, Merkesdal set up Magnus Svensson, but the striker was unable to control the ball effectively and it was cleared.

Kiruna 0-0 Mjällby

Subs: A. Nilsson for K. Gjesdal, 78’; R. Kjellin for F. Soler, 88’

Misc.: -

Man of the Match: Geir Teigen, Kiruna (9 – 8 tackles/4 key, 3 intercepted passes)

Att.: 5579

***

It was certainly a good performance against a very good team, in front of the largest home crowd in Kiruna history. Both Mjällby and ourselves stayed stuck behind Assyriska – Mjällby due to goal differential, Kiruna a point off the pace with 14. Brage won, too, and so they were tied up with us on points but in fourth ‘cause of their leaky defense. Even Västra Frölunda and Värtan were in on the action, the former one point behind us and the latter, two.