retired_firebear369

1st April 2004

Anders Lidström was about to learn about the harsh reality of managing at this level when he met with the board. He was told that the club was now in debt, and that the club would have to sell players for a considerable amount of money for this level. It turned out that Mellerud had already lost over £50k in the first quarter of the year. One thing that Lidström had done that was appreciated by the board was to reduce wages.

Nine players had been brought in during the close season, including the division's leading scorer last term, Eddy Lopez. Eleven players had left the club, and more would surely have to leave in order to prevent administrators from having to come in. This situation ultimately meant that the Swedish Cup 1st round would start the season, and no friendlies would be played.

21 April 2004 - Swedish Cup 1st Round
Mellerud v. Lund
Rådavallen

Lund were emphatically dismissed from the Swedish Cup at the hands of a ruthless Mellerud side. Even the 6-0 scoreline did not due the match justice. However, it was the amazing five goals tally from debutant David Lundström that had the Lund defence up in arms.

The 19-year-old striker opened his account for the club with a sensational free kick from 25 yards, and quickly the one man rout was on. A headed cross from Alex Mabäcker Johansson set him up for an easy second on 34 minutes, but he was far from done this evening. He completed a hat-trick with the last kick of the first half, as he turned Lund defender Ludwig Berg and powered it home.

Lundström made it four goals on 66 minutes, as he took a shot on the volley from a cross supplied by fellow debutant Fredrik Andersson. The fifth goal for Lundström was also setup by that man. Andersson outworked Berg for a ball in the air and nodded it into Lundström's path. On this night, it was never in doubt if he would finish. Substitute Ninos Thöre, also making his debut, added the final goal as he headed home directly from a corner.

Mellerud 6-0 Lund
Mellerud: Lundström 18, 34, 45, 66, 74; Thöre 79
Attendance: 648

For the next round of the cup, Lidström's men drew First Division Falkenberg at home.

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The wasn't that much time to reflect on the cup victory for there was the league opener the following Saturday. Mellerud would be taking on GAIS in the league opener, and the hosts would be looking to improve on their performance last season, which saw them miss out on the championship by a single point.

24th April 2004 - Swedish Second Division
Mellerud v. GAIS
Rådavallen

The visitors from Gothenburg nearly escaped with all three points, but they eventually succumbed to Mellerud. GAIS went in front on 26 minutes after the hosts failed to take advantage of several opportunities in front of goal. Patrik Elmander took a pass from Kenneth Gustafsson and curled it in from the edge of the area.

It took 27 minutes, but Mellerud finally equalised when Jon Bergenholtz found Alex Mabäcker Johansson unmarked in the middle and it was 1-1. Parity did not last long as David Lundström wrote his name on the scoresheet, as he took advantage of a terrible error by Lucazs Chmaj to make it 2-1. Mellerud put the match away in the dying stages when substitute Burim Avdijaj took advantage of a thin defence to score his first of the season.

Mellerud 3-1 GAIS
Mellerud: Mabäcker Johansson (1) 55; Lundström (1) 58; Avdijaj (1) 90
GAIS: Elmander (1) 26
Attendance: 668

Other Scores:
Gunnilse 3-1 Sandared
Gunnilse: Kuzev (1) 18; Henriksson (1) 45; Holster (1) 58
Sandared: Björk (1) 5
Attendance: 1834

Jonsered 0-2 Tidaholms GoIF
Tidaholms GoIF: Jovic (1,2) 17, 37
Attendance: 1510

Mariedal 1-1 Varbergs BOIS
Mariedal: Eres (1) 67
Varbergs BOIS: Abrahamsson (1) 56
Attendance: 1527

Skärhamn 3-1 Tord
Skärhamn: Löfgren (1,2) 5, 62; Prochazka (1) 23
Tord: Wandeby (1) 4
Attendance: 1781

Torslanda 2-0 FC Trollhättan
Torslanda: Andersson (1) 62; Fatehi (1) 87
Attendance: 1729

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (24/4/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Gunnilse 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Mellerud 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3 3rd Skärhamn 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3 4th Tidaholms GoIF 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 5th Torslanda 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 6th Mariedal 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 7th Varbergs BOIS 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 8th GAIS 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0 9th Sandared 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10th Tord 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11th FC Trollhättan 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 12th Jonsered 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 </pre>

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Midfielder Daniel Barac went down with an injury in training in the run up to the next match at newly promoted Varbergs. He was going to be out for the next three weeks with a strained knee. A series of injuries was quickly going to test the small squad that was forced upon Lidström.

29th April 2004 - Swedish Second Division
Varbergs BOIS v. Mellerud
Påskbergsvallen, Varberg

One of the Second Division's new sides wanted to show that they belong in this league. They put together an inspired performance, but in the end they succumbed to Anders Lidström's shoestring squad.

It took nearly the entire first half for Mellerud to take the lead. On 44 minutes, Alex Mabäcker Johansson took a brilliant pass from Fredrik Johansson to put the visitors in front. In the 62nd minute, Johansson scored his first for the club when he collected his own rebound to make it 2-0. He also finished the scoring sixteen minutes later when he out-jumped Andreas Andersson to put the ball in the back of the net.

Varbergs BOIS 0-3 Mellerud
Mellerud: Mabäcker Johansson (2) 44; Andersson (1,2) 62, 78
Attendance: 1669

Other Scores:
FC Trollhättan 0-0 Skärhamn
Attendance: 2149

GAIS 0-0 Torslanda
Attendance: 3254

Sandared 3-0 Mariedal
Sandared: Björk (2) 59; Einarsson (1); Gillberg (1) 85
Attendance: 1966

Tidaholms GoIF 2-0 Gunnilse
Tidaholms GoIF: Bergström (1) 16; Kaya (1) 84
Attendance: 2407

Tord 3-0 Jonsered
Tord: Nilsson og 45; Hamfeldt (1) 54; Eriksson (1) 64
Attendance: 1289

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (29/4/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Tidaholms GoIF 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 6 3rd Skärhamn 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4 4th Torslanda 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 5th Sandared 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 6th Tord 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3 7th Gunnilse 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 8th GAIS 2 0 1 1 1 3 2 1 9th FC Trollhättan 2 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10th Mariedal 2 0 1 1 1 4 3 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11th Varbergs BOIS 2 0 1 1 1 4 3 1 12th Jonsered 2 0 0 2 0 5 5 0 </pre>

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5th May 2004 - Swedish Cup 2nd Round
Mellerud v. Falkenberg
Rådavallen

Anders Lidström surely has to be proud of his side as they pushed their way into the third round over First Division strugglers Falkenberg in fine style at Rådavallen. Any doubts over Mellerud's class were erased on 28 minutes. Jon Bergenholtz embarked on a magnificent solo run at the heart of the Falkenberg defence. The attention he gathered allowed Alex Mabäcker Johansson to tap in from a Bergenholtz pass.

The hosts added a second after the break when Fredrik Andersson took advantage of repeated rebounds, and finally poked one in on 63 minutes. The reward for advancing to the third round for Mellerud: a June clash with Helsingborg at Rådavallen.

Mellerud 2-0 Falkenberg
Mellerud: Mabäcker Johansson 28; Andersson 63
Attendance: 657

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J- KUTGW!

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8th May 2004 - Swedish Second Division
Mellerud v. Sandared
Rådavallen

Anders Lidström had no problem getting his side up for this match after their surprise victory midweek in the Swedish Cup. What Mellerud taught their inexperienced opponents on this afternoon was a deadly lesson in execution. In addition, Sandared goalkeeper Andreas Svensson surely had to leave the match red-faced as his errors soured a good performance from his defenders.

Mellerud put themselves in front after 10 minutes when Svensson pushed a light shot from Alex Mabäcker Johansson directly in the path of David Lundström, who made no mistake from six yards out. Ten minutes later, Svensson was caught out on a cross from Jon Bergenholtz, and Johansson had no problem putting it into the gaping net.

Mellerud grabbed a third when Lundström ran onto a long ball from substitute Eddy Lopez, only to be brought down by Svensson, who picked up a yellow card for the offense. Jon Bergenholtz scored on the resultant penalty to make it 3-0. The fourth goal was symbolic of Svensson's performance in goal, as he was beaten from 35 yards on an ambitious shot from Johansson.

Mellerud 4-0 Sandared
Mellerud: Lundström (2) 10; Johansson (3,4) 20, 81; Bergenholtz (1) pen 73
Attendance: 705

Other Results (from 6/5/2004):
Gunnilse 1-0 Tord
Gunnilse: Holster (2) 55
Attendance: 1713

Jonsered 2-2 FC Trollhättan
Jonsered: Johansson (1) 40; Susak (1) 44
FC Trollhättan: Abtah (1) 23; Gonzalez (1) 51
Attendance: 1719

Results from 8/5/2004:
Mariedal 0-0 Tidaholms GoIF
Attendance: 1547

Skärhamn 5-1 Torslanda
Skärhamn: Löfgren (3,4,5,6,7) 16, 62, 64, 70, 90
Torslanda: Mörstam (1) 10
Attendance: 1766

Varbergs BOIS 3-0 GAIS
Varbergs BOIS: Yashin (3,4) 27, 77; Dincer (1) 51
Attendance: 1537

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (8/5/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 3 3 0 0 10 1 +9 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Skärhamn 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7 3rd Tidaholms GoIF 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 7 4th Gunnilse 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6 5th Varbergs BOIS 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4 6th Torslanda 3 1 1 1 3 5 -2 4 7th Tord 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3 8th Sandared 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3 3 9th FC Trollhättan 3 0 2 1 2 4 -2 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10th Mariedal 3 0 2 1 1 4 -3 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11th Jonsered 3 0 1 2 2 7 -5 1 12th GAIS 3 0 1 2 1 6 -5 1 </pre>

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13th May 2004 - Swedish Second Division
Tidaholms GoIF v. Mellerud
Ulvesborg, Tidaholm

Leaders Mellerud were held by an inspired Tidaholms side at Ulvesborg. Possession and flow of play were controlled for most of the first hour by the hosts, but numerous saves from Mellerud's 19-year-old keeper Marcus Sahlman kept them in the match.

Mellerud finally took the lead against the flow of play on the hour mark. An incredible solo effort by Alex Mabäcker Johansson made it 1-0 to the visitors, as he showed why he is attracting the interest of several clubs in the Swedish Allsvenskan. The hosts got a measure of revenge when Anders Danielsson went down on the edge of the penalty area. Danielsson buried the penalty to finish the scoring at 1-1.

Tidaholms GoIF 1-1 Mellerud
Tidaholms GoIF: Danielsson (1) pen 85
Mellerud: Johansson (5) 60
Attendance: 1578

Other Scores:
FC Trollhättan 1-1 Gunnilse
FC Trollhättan: Kristoffersson (1) 54
Gunnilse: Fahler og 56
Attendance: 1553

GAIS 1-1 Skärhamn
GAIS: Otterdahl (1) 75
Skärhamn: Larsson (1) 2
Attendance: 4159

Sandared 1-1 Varbergs BOIS
Sandared: Gillberg (2) 45
Varbergs BOIS: Jusufi (1) pen 8
Attendance: 1717

Tord 4-1 Mariedal
Tord: Lindholm (1) 32; Nilsson (1) 58; Wandeby (2) 62; Fensby (1) 69
Mariedal: Rotting (1) 5
Attendance: 1299

Torslanda 2-1 Jonsered
Torslanda: Baaz (1) 45; Mörstam (2) 67
Jonsered: Lubian (1) 81
Attendance: 1964

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (13/5/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 4 3 1 0 11 2 +9 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Skärhamn 4 2 2 0 9 3 +6 8 3rd Tidaholms GoIF 4 2 2 0 5 1 +4 8 4th Gunnilse 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7 5th Torslanda 4 2 1 1 5 6 -1 7 6th Tord 4 2 0 2 8 5 +3 6 7th Varbergs BOIS 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5 8th Sandared 4 1 1 2 5 8 -3 4 9th FC Trollhättan 4 0 3 1 3 5 -2 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10th GAIS 4 0 2 2 2 7 -5 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11th Mariedal 4 0 2 2 2 8 -6 2 12th Jonsered 4 0 1 3 3 9 -6 1 </pre>

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There was some good news this week as defender Õrjan Bäckstrand returned to the lineup after a groin injury suffered on the opening day. The injury list was not going to be shrinking for very long, however.

20th May 2004 - Swedish Second Division
Mellerud v. Tord
Rådavallen

Mellerud hit the ground running in this affair, but quickly lost momentum as injuries took their toll. Alex Mabäcker Johansson once again opened the scoring for the hosts on just 43 seconds. Johansson beat the offside trap on a long pass from defender Kristoffer Lind, and rounded the keeper to make it 1-0. Mellerud quickly doubled the advantage just two minutes later. A Joel Karsson cross was headed home by Fredrik Andersson, and it looked like the rout was on.

Tord quickly struck back, although not on the scoresheet. Henrik Olsson, Henrik Eriksson, and Jon Bergenholtz all left the match with knee injuries after clashes with opposition players. The weakened Mellerud side could not hold the clean sheet as Jerry Wandeby scored in second half injury time, but they could not score again.

Mellerud 2-1 Tord
Mellerud: Johansson (6) 1; Andersson (3) 3
Tord: Wandeby (3) 90
Attendance: 722

Other Results:
Gunnilse 1-0 Torslanda
Gunnilse: Kuzev (2) 14
Attendance: 2140

Jonsered 4-1 Skärhamn
Jonsered: Susak (2,3) 11, 30; Lubian (2) 19; Sarrafzadeh (1) 60
Skärhamn: Löfgren (8) 21
Attendance: 1779

Mariedal 1-2 FC Trollhättan
Mariedal: Kauznetsov (1) 41
FC Trollhättan: Kristoffersson (2) 20; Andersson (1) 90
Attendance: 1538

Sandared 1-0 GAIS
Sandared: Arvidsson (1) 45
Attendance: 1721

Varbergs BOIS 0-3 Tidaholms GoIF
Tidaholms: Torstensson (1) 65; Nyman (1,2) 69, 90
Attendance: 1557

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (20/5/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 5 4 1 0 13 3 +10 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Tidaholms GoIF 5 3 2 0 8 1 +7 11 3rd Gunnilse 5 3 1 1 6 4 +2 10 4th Skärhamn 5 2 2 1 10 7 +3 8 5th Sandared 5 2 1 2 6 8 -2 7 6th Torslanda 5 2 1 2 5 7 -2 7 7th Tord 5 2 0 3 9 7 +2 6 8th FC Trollhättan 5 1 3 1 5 6 -1 6 9th Varbergs BOIS 5 1 2 2 5 8 -3 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10th Jonsered 5 1 1 3 7 10 -3 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11th GAIS 5 0 2 3 2 8 -6 2 12th Mariedal 5 0 2 3 3 10 -7 2 </pre>

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27th May 2004 - Swedish Second Division
FC Trollhättan v. Mellerud
Edsborgs IP, Trollhättan

An injury riddled Mellerud side laid down the gauntlet on the rest of the league with an 8-0 destruction of FC Trollhättan at Edsborgs IP. Fredrik Andersson struck a hat-trick, with David Lundström also scoring a brace. The other goals came from Alex Mabäcker Johansson, Daniel Barac, and Ninos Thöre.

FC Trollhättan 0-8 Mellerud
Mellerud: Andersson (4,5,6) pen 14, 18, 90; Johansson (7) 23; Lundström (3,4) 35, 90; Barac (1) 37; Thöre (1) 74
Attendance: 1902

Other Results:
GAIS 3-0 Jonsered
GAIS: Gravem (1,2,3) 24, 37, 73
Attendance: 3274

Skärhamn 1-2 Gunnilse
Skärhamn: Piotrowski (1) 60
Gunnilse: Shabani (1) 35; Höglund (1) 62
Attendance: 1976

Tidaholms GoIF 6-0 Sandared
Tidaholms: Bergstrom (2,3) 16, 21; Torstensson (2,3) 36, 47; Fogelbergh (1) 56; Nyman (3) 75
Attendance: 1610

Tord 2-0 Varbergs BOIS
Tord: Nilsson (2) 84; Hamfeldt (2) 87
Attendance: 1318

Torslanda 6-0 Mariedal
Torslanda: Kalimajira (1,2) 9, 35; Mörstam (3) 54; Johansson (1,2) 74, 86; Baaz (2) 84
Attendance: 1520

Swedish Second Division Västra Götaland (27/5/2004)
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 6 5 1 0 21 3 +18 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd Tidaholms GoIF 6 4 2 0 14 1 +13 14 3rd Gunnilse 6 4 1 1 8 5 +3 13 4th Torslanda 6 3 1 2 11 7 +4 10 5th Tord 6 3 0 3 11 7 +4 9 6th Skärhamn 6 2 2 2 11 9 +2 8 7th Sandared 6 2 1 3 6 14 -8 7 8th FC Trollhättan 6 1 3 2 5 14 -9 6 9th GAIS 6 1 2 3 5 8 -3 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10th Varbergs BOIS 6 1 2 3 5 10 -5 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11th Jonsered 6 1 1 4 7 13 -6 4 12th Mariedal 6 0 2 4 3 16 -13 2 </pre>

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2nd June 2004 - Swedish Cup 3rd Round
Mellerud v. Helsingborg
Rådavallen

What looked like a complete mismatch on paper turned out to be an absolute thriller. Anders Lidström displayed some tactical brilliance in this match from the onset, as he opted to play a 3-5-2 in an attempt to bog the match down in midfield. Goalmouth action was extremely limited in this encounter, and it only came down to who took their chances better.

The opener went to the home side in shocking fashion as Helsingborg goalkeeper Fredrik Larsson could not hold onto a shot, and David Lundström took advantage to make it 1-0. The Mellerud defence held firm against the ensuing onslaught of the Helsingborg attack. The giant killing was completed with a goal from Alex Mabäcker Johansson. The young striker, whose exploits are quickly making him a legend at the club, intercepted a backpass from Eldin Karisic and finished with an perfect chip over the goalkeeper.

Mellerud 2-0 Helsingborg
Mellerud: Lundström 42; Johansson 73
Attendance: 666