retired_srhrose17

One more time for the very last time… – November 2003

November certainly didn’t introduce itself with the intent for me to like it. It didn’t demurely offer a home match against Aspeboda, submitted for my approval. Oh no, we had to start out right the hell now, on the 1st, away against Östersunds FK, who were never easy to play and who could pass us with a win. Plus, we didn’t have the services of Björn Andersson, who was suspended for a game ‘cause he’d seen too much yellow of late.

Saturday 1 November, Östersunds FK (4th) vs. Kiruna (3rd)
Frode Henriksen made three saves before Östersunds scored their first goal… which was five minutes into the game. If that sounds like a bit of a downer to start off a match, well, it was. Although Henriksen was in fine form and did a lot to keep them from adding to the lead throughout the half, our feeble attacking efforts did little to intimidate the home team. Shortly after the break, they added to the lead (and they’d earned it). It just wasn’t coming together for us that day. Joakim Gunillasson cut the lead in half with a 79th-minute goal, and we had some brief hope, but Östersunds cruelly shattered that with an icer in injury time. Östersunds FK 3-1 Kiruna (J. Gunillasson)

We had just one game left and no chance of catching Gefle for the top spot. Many players’ contracts were expiring in the days between our final two games, and frankly we couldn’t afford to keep guys around on rolling contracts, so I had to cut some guys loose. In the end, the criteria I used was If this player was available on a free, would I sign him? In the end, I cut all three players whose contracts were expiring during that interval: Bertil Bergström, Pär Asp, and Stefan Harju. If it weren’t for the finances I don’t think I’d have got rid of any of them, and the loss of Harju was particularly difficult to take as he’d been a fine club servant since 1997, but as it was they simply had to go.

I did sign defender Göran Samuelsson to a new one-year contract as well as welcome in a new player on a Bosman free transfer:

Transfer in: D RC Frank Langseth, NOR, 23, Bosman, 2750 SEK p/w. Last club: Jevnaker IF

Langseth went straight into the team alongside Rob Kjellin for our meaningless final game against Luleå SK. Playin’ for pride, here.

Sunday 9 November, Kiruna (4th) vs. Luleå SK (10th)
I’m not sure if we got pride out of this one or not. We dominated the game, but they won. Frode Henriksen allowed one goal with no saves; Sören Alm, the 20-year-old netminder for SK, allowed no goals, 10 saves. Good effort for that boy. *sigh* Frank Langseth played very well on his Kiruna debut, and nobody really sucked, but down to 5th we went, regardless. The win did SK no good as they were consigned to the relegation playoffs. Kiruna 0-1 Luleå SK

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Swedish Second Division NorthPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Gefle 22 8 3 0 28 13 7 2 2 29 13 50 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Boden 22 9 1 1 29 11 5 3 3 20 13 46 3rd Östersunds FK 22 8 1 2 30 16 6 1 4 20 18 44 4th Luleå Fotboll 22 8 1 2 22 16 6 0 5 15 15 43 5th Kiruna 22 7 2 2 21 7 5 2 4 25 17 40 6th Skellefteå AIK 22 8 1 2 16 8 3 3 5 12 14 37 7th Selånger 22 6 2 3 19 12 5 0 6 17 19 35 8th Söderhamn 22 3 3 5 15 22 3 2 6 9 14 23 9th Heden 22 2 3 6 8 16 3 3 5 13 19 21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10th Pl Luleå SK 22 2 5 4 9 14 2 2 7 6 17 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11th R Anundsjö 22 2 0 9 5 20 0 4 7 6 23 10 12th R Aspeboda 22 0 1 10 2 18 1 1 9 1 22 5 </pre>

So we did three points better than last year’s performance, and one position worse. This was largely attributable to the miserably bad teams that were promoted from the fourth level, Anundsjö and Aspeboda. Depending on how the Second Division North would be realigned next year, the fact that the patsies went back down could have been neutral – two equally bad teams coming up? – or bad – decent teams coming up and perhaps another relegated D1 team to contend with? I suppose I’d find out next year.

I was, at any rate, fervently hoping for Luleå SK to lose in the relegation playoff, and for Gefle to win their promotion playoff and get the hell out of my division. Gefle obliged with a penalty win over Trollhättans FK after a 4-4 draw on aggregate over two legs; Luleå SK stubbornly refused to go down and would have their opportunities to beat us next year.

[code] ================================================== ==============================================
Squad
================================================== ==============================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Andersson, Björn D C SWE 11.3.80 23 - - 750|:- 21.11.04 100|TKr
- Asp, Peter S C SWE 18.8.77 26 - - 1,7|TKr 7.11.04 120|TKr
- Axeldal, Jonas F C SWE 2.9.70 33 - - 2|TKr 14.11.03 160|TKr
- Bergström, Johan D/M R SWE 19.9.83 20 - - 2,3|TKr 5.11.06 400|TKr
- Danielsson, David D/AM LC SWE 28.4.85 18 - - 750|:- 20.11.04 40|TKr
-

[This message was edited by kamikazecf on 28 October 2003 at 2:00.]

retired_heathermarie

I like playing in Scandinavia... Quick seasons, lots of little teams, the challenge... It's bliss. Might have to go back there very soon.

Keep up the good work.

retired_srhrose17

Oh boy, did I ever f' up the last part of that post... it sucks trying to edit posts with a sketchy connection. Thanks, Pierroth, very much

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Andersson, Björn D C SWE 11.3.80 23 - - 750|:- 21.11.04 100|TKr - Asp, Peter S C SWE 18.8.77 26 - - 1,7|TKr 7.11.04 120|TKr - Axeldal, Jonas F C SWE 2.9.70 33 - - 2|TKr 14.11.03 160|TKr - Bergström, Johan D/M R SWE 19.9.83 20 - - 2,3|TKr 5.11.06 400|TKr - Danielsson, David D/AM LC SWE 28.4.85 18 - - 750|:- 20.11.04 40|TKr - Gabrielsson, Magnus AM C SWE 6.7.85 18 - - 750|:- 28.11.03 0|:- - Gunillasson, Joakim S C SWE 10.11.77 26 - - 2,5|TKr 15.11.04 180|TKr - Haglund, Kenneth M C SWE 24.7.85 18 - - 750|:- 27.11.04 120|TKr - Hannu, Johan DM C SWE 10.3.72 31 - - 650|:- 8.11.04 40|TKr - Henriksen, Frode GK NOR 7.2.85 18 - - 1,2|TKr 7.11.05 100|TKr - Holmgren, Mikael D R SWE 23.11.84 18 - - 850|:- 28.11.03 0|:- - Johansson, Fredrik AM R SWE 24.1.70 33 - - 2|TKr 15.11.03 0|:- - Jönsson, Marcus M LC SWE 15.10.78 25 - - 2|TKr 18.11.05 400|TKr - Karlsson, Joon D/M C SWE 1.9.80 23 - - 2|TKr 5.11.05 260|TKr - Kero, Jon D C SWE 9.3.78 25 - - 650|:- 27.11.05 50|TKr - Kjellin, Robert D LC SWE 11.3.73 30 - - 2,75|TKr 18.11.05 750|TKr - Laaksonen, Hans AM/F C SWE 5.7.75 28 - - 900|:- 25.11.04 40|TKr - Labba, Nils Johan M C SWE 5.11.84 19 - - 2,2|TKr 8.11.05 400|TKr - Langseth, Frank D RC NOR 17.2.80 23 - - 2,75|TKr 5.11.05 120|TKr - Lantto, Erik AM C SWE 10.3.80 23 - - 2,75|TKr 24.11.05 800|TKr - Larsen, Lars D L DEN 20.1.83 20 - - 950|:- 28.11.04 40|TKr - Lindgren, Tomas S C SWE 6.1.74 29 - - 1|TKr 14.11.07 300|TKr - Lindmark, Marcus D R SWE 12.5.83 20 - - 2,1|TKr 2.11.05 280|TKr - Malmbring, Niklas S C SWE 6.7.80 23 - - 2,5|TKr 13.11.04 350|TKr - Niemälä, Lars-Göran GK SWE 18.1.74 29 - - 650|:- 3.11.04 40|TKr - Ökvist, Lars M C SWE 11.3.83 20 - - 650|:- 12.11.04 40|TKr - Olofsson, Mattias D C SWE 26.1.80 23 - - 750|:- 13.11.05 50|TKr - Oscarsson, Kalle D/DM C SWE 27.6.86 17 - - 750|:- 5.11.04 60|TKr - Rønning, Magnus SW/D C NOR 19.11.82 20 - - 1,3|TKr 19.11.03 0|:- - Samuelsson, Göran D C SWE 7.11.83 20 - - 650|:- 3.11.04 80|TKr - Sjöbom, Stefan D L SWE 31.10.73 30 - - 1,9|TKr 6.11.04 260|TKr - Solbakken, Dagfinn AM L NOR 6.1.87 16 - - 1,5|TKr 4.11.04 140|TKr - Stridsman, Johan F C SWE 3.6.80 23 - - 650|:- 7.11.05 50|TKr - Svanelöv, Niklas D/DM C SWE 17.9.80 23 - - 1,7|TKr 2.11.04 100|TKr - Teigen, Geir D L NOR 11.7.85 18 - - 2,5|TKr 4.11.05 260|TKr - Tuominen, Juha S C FIN 16.10.83 20 - - 2|TKr 3.11.05 500|TKr - Vikeväinen, Mikko GK SWE 6.6.79 24 - - 1,3|TKr 2.11.06 180|TKr ================================================== ============================================== 2003 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andersson, Björn 17 0 0 0 1 5 1 0 7.24 - Asp, Peter - - - - - - - - ---- - Axeldal, Jonas 16 (4) 11 0 0 0 0 0 4 7.50 - Bergström, Johan 23 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 6.91 - Danielsson, David - - - - - - - - ---- - Gabrielsson, Magnus - - - - - - - - ---- - Gunillasson, Joakim 19 (2) 9 0 0 1 0 0 2 7.14 - Haglund, Kenneth 7 (2) 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.00 - Hannu, Johan - - - - - - - - ---- - Henriksen, Frode 22 0 24 0 0 1 0 0 7.18 - Holmgren, Mikael 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Johansson, Fredrik 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Jönsson, Marcus 22 5 0 2 (2) 11 0 0 2 7.50 - Karlsson, Joon 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Kero, Jon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Kjellin, Robert 21 4 0 0 2 1 0 2 7.10 - Laaksonen, Hans - - - - - - - - ---- - Labba, Nils Johan 19 (1) 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 6.95 - Langseth, Frank 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Lantto, Erik 20 6 0 0 5 1 1 2 7.30 - Larsen, Lars - - - - - - - - ---- - Lindgren, Tomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Lindmark, Marcus 23 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 6.57 - Malmbring, Niklas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Niemälä, Lars-Göran - - - - - - - - ---- - Ökvist, Lars 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Olofsson, Mattias 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Oscarsson, Kalle - - - - - - - - ---- - Rønning, Magnus 7 (2) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.22 - Samuelsson, Göran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Sjöbom, Stefan 21 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.71 - Solbakken, Dagfinn 1 (7) 1 0 1 (1) 1 1 1 0 6.63 - Stridsman, Johan 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Svanelöv, Niklas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Teigen, Geir 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Tuominen, Juha 11 (6) 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 7.06 - Vikeväinen, Mikko 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 4.00 ================================================== ============================================== 2003 Transfers========================================= ================================================== =====Date Player In From Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------7.1.03 Juha Tuominen Free Transfer Free 8.1.03 Lars Larsen Free Transfer Free 24.1.03 Robert Kjellin Free Transfer Free 7.2.03 Rickard Granberg Free Transfer Free 10.2.03 Hans Stridsman Free Transfer Free 11.2.03 Stefan Sjöbom Free Transfer Free 2.3.03 Kenneth Haglund Free Transfer Free 9.3.03 Frode Henriksen Free Transfer Free 8.4.03 Dagfinn Solbakken Free Transfer Free 13.5.03 Geir Teigen Free Transfer Free 3.11.03 Frank Langseth Jevnaker Bos Date Player Out To Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------2.9.03 Patrik Strömberg Bergsbyn 10|TKr 2.11.03 Bertil Bergström Released Free 5.11.03 Pär Asp Released Free 6.11.03 Stefan Harju Released Free ================================================== ============================================== 2003 Fixtures========================================== ================================================== ====Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21.3.03 Luleå Fotboll H Lombia Cup 4:3 323 Axeldal, Bergström, Lindmark, Solbakken22.3.03 Luleå SK H Lombia Cup 2:0 351 Lantto, Kjellin23.3.03 Boden H Lombia Cup 2:2 320 Gunillasson, Bergström30.3.03 Gällivare H Friendly 1:4 182 Tuominen6.4.03 Gefle H Second Division N 0:1 1140 13.4.03 Söderhamn A Second Division N 5:2 1512 M.Jönsson, Lantto, Axeldal, Kjellin, Gunillasson20.4.03 Heden H Second Division N 2:0 868 Axeldal, Kjellin27.4.03 Skellefteå AIK A Second Division N 2:3 1396 Gunillasson, Axeldal4.5.03 Aspeboda H Second Division N 3:0 740 Gunillasson 2, Lantto11.5.03 Luleå Fotboll A Second Division N 5:0 774 Gunillasson, Axeldal 2, E.Lantto, Haglund18.5.03 Boden A Second Division N 2:3 789 Lindmark, M.Jönsson pen8.6.03 Selånger H Second Division N 4:0 978 Jönsson, Tuominen 320.7.03 Anundsjö A Second Division N 3:1 1373 Gunillasson 2, Tuominen27.7.03 Luleå SK A Swedish Cup Grp 8 1st Rnd 2:5 793 Solbakken pen, Haglund3.8.03 Östersunds FK H Second Division N 2:1 1552 Tuominen, M.Jönsson pen10.8.03 Luleå SK A Second Division N 1:1 814 Lantto17.8.03 Gefle A Second Division N 2:2 797 Labba, Gunillasson24.8.03 Söderhamn H Second Division N 2:2 1238 Tuominen, Lantto31.8.03 Heden A Second Division N 1:2 1669 Haglund7.9.03 Skellefteå AIK H Second Division N 3:1 875 M.Jönsson, Axeldal 214.9.03 Aspeboda A Second Division N 1:0 722 Tuominen21.9.03 Luleå Fotboll H Second Division N 2:0 1486 Axeldal 25.10.03 Boden H Second Division N 1:1 1713 Lantto19.10.03 Selånger A Second Division N 2:0 774 Axeldal, Kjellin26.10.03 Anundsjö H Second Division N 2:0 1264 Axeldal, Kjellin1.11.03 Östersunds FK A Second Division N 1:3 771 Gunillasson9.11.03 Luleå SK H Second Division N 0:1 913 </pre>

Story-wise, that was the last season of month-to-month updates. I think I’m engaged enough in the game now to write individual match updates once the season comes back around. Fun fun

retired_srhrose17

Close season 2003/’04

Skillful winger Marcus Jönsson picked up his first Kiruna Fans’ Player of the Year award. It was one which the 25-year-old richly deserved and there just may be more in his future if he keeps up performances like he gave this year.

Transfer activity, which was anticipated to be largely of the “out” variety, started off with a shocker. Jonas Axeldal’s pre-arranged transfer to Café Opera was canceled because they couldn’t afford the 240,000 SEK transfer fee. This meant we were stuck with Jonas on a rolling contract that he was willing to extend only at great cost to us, which we simply couldn’t afford. Fortunately, there were a few more teams interesting in obtaining Jonas’ services and offered to sign him away from us, which would result in compensation of 140,000 to us. He had his pick of teams and took his time deciding.

Meanwhile, we released veteran winger Fredrik Johansson, young defender Magnus Rønning, and reserve team players Mikael Holmgren and Magnus Gabrielsson. Rønning’s loss was particularly wrenching because of his unquestionable talent, but it wasn’t worth paying him top dollar (top kronor?) for only occasional first-team appearances.

Back on the Axeldal front, he accepted an offer from Skinnskatteberg SK, who were too stupid to realize that they didn’t have the funds to sign him, and the transfer was canceled and we continued to pay him a rolling contract. After the process repeated itself with some different team, the decision was made to cut our losses and release Jonas on a free transfer with our thanks for his two years’ service and our best wishes for his future (although given that he was 33 he probably didn’t have much of a future in the game anyway). In his time with the club, Jonas scored 20 league goals and was the club’s top goalscorer in both of his seasons.

With Kiruna’s debts at over 7,000,000 and rising, several fringe players were transfer listed and surprisingly enough, teams were interested in acquiring many of them. Whether they were willing to pay fees for them was another matter entirely. In the end, 10 players left; Mikko Vikeväinen fetched the largest price (40,000 SEK) and of the others, only Lars Ökvist commanded a fee, his being 30,000. Also departing the club were Niklas Svanelöv, Mattias Olofsson, Joon Karlsson, Jon Kero, Niklas Malmbring, Lars-Göran Niemälä, Hans Laaksonen, and Tomas Lindgren.

Our squad, extremely thin following the departures, did require some small measure of addition and so young forward Jörgen Engström came in on a free transfer with the lowest wages out of anyone on the team; additionally, since Frode Henriksen was left as our only goalkeeper, I brought one in on loan, Amel Hrnic from Premier Division club Mjällby.

All told, we were left with 24 players (including Hrnic) and a wage bill of 36,000 per week. Those 24 went undefeated in the Lombia Cup at the end of March, conceding only one goal during the three-game tournament. Marcus Jönsson and Juha Tuominen scored to give Kiruna a 2-0 victory over Heden in the opener; Geir Teigen floated an injury-time free kick for Kenny Haglund to head in for a 1-0 win over Luleå SK; in the final, during which the backups saw much time, Peter Asp scored twice, new boy Jörgen Engström notched one and Marcus Jönsson finished off the scoring in a 4-1 bashing of Boden. The gate receipts we picked up and the morale boost from the victory were offset by the injuries sustained during the tournament. Marcus Lindmark, Dagfinn Solbakken, and Johan Stridsman would all be unavailable for at least the first couple games of the season. Our lack of depth threatened to finish off this season before it even began.

retired_srhrose17

Squad analysis for the 2004 season:

Goalkeepers


Frode Henriksen, 19, Norwegian. The only goalkeeper contracted to the club, Frode had allowed 24 goals from 22 games last year and would look to turn in an even better performance this term. A very level-headed player, especially for one so young, he had a lot of talent and it looked like he’d be around for awhile.

Amel Hrnjic,, 21, Swedish. Brought in on loan after one of our scouts saw him playing for Mjällby reserves, he was the only backup options we have for Henriksen. Amel may actually have been a better goalkeeper, but it was more important that the player who was ours got the playing time.

Defenders

Marcus Lindmark, 20, Swedish. The talented right back remained inconsistent in 2003, but by and large it was an improvement on his 2002 campaign and I looked for continued improvement from him this season. First-choice fullback.

Frank Langseth, 24, Norwegian. In his first full season for the club, Frank was going to start every game if I could help it. He was able to play in the center and on the right; ideally he’d play mostly in the middle next to Kjellin, but if Lindmark was out then Langseth was about the only other option we had there.

Robert Kjellin, 31, Swedish. Club captain was a valuable player in his first year at Kiruna, not only playing very solid defense but contributing four goals to the cause. Kjellin was a right-footed player who could, oddly enough, play left back or in the middle, and he’d be next to Langseth most games.

Geir Teigen, 18, Norwegian. The left back may have been even more gifted than we thought when we signed him. He was good when he joined the club and had improved a lot since then. Solid performances in the Lombia Cup earned him the starting fullback spot going into the season.

Stefan Sjöbom, 30, Swedish. Veteran left back who was going to be Teigen’s backup. He had a decent 2003 season but provided only one assist; we’d hoped for more. Still, he was a useful player to have around.

Björn Andersson, 24, Swedish. He was a starter in 2003 and his performances certainly didn’t lose him the spot, so I wasn’t going to hesitate to put him in if Kjellin or Langseth underperformed. Björn was an extremely valuable player on a very reasonable contract and I considered him vital to the side.

Also: D L Lars Larsen; D C Göran Samuelsson; D/AM LC David Danielsson (transfer listed); D/DM C Kalle Oscarsson (transfer listed)

Midfielders

Johan Bergström, 20, Swedish. Like Lindmark who played in support of him, Bergström showed vast improvement in 2003 and there was no reason he couldn’t be better in ’04. Not only was he going to start at right wing, he was going to play just about every minute of every game because we didn’t exactly have a backup for him.

Marcus Jönsson, 25, Swedish. Last season’s Fans Player of the Year, he led the team in assists and played well game in and game out. Couldn’t ask for much more than that. A definite starter at left wing.

Nils Johan Labba, 19, Swedish. Bearing in mind that he just turned 19 in November of 2003, his performances as a 17- and 18-year-old have been nothing less than brilliant, and he’s only gotten better. Nils got rave reviews from all of Kiruna’s coaches and looked to have a very bright future ahead of him. He’d get ample opportunity to show that with a starting role in 2004.

Erik Lantto, 24, Swedish. His 2003 season was no more than we expected of him. Fortunately, expectations had been very high, so his final tally of 6 goals and 5 assists while playing consistently well was just fine for us. More of the same for 2004 would be fine.

Kenneth Haglund, 18, Swedish. Since signing for us before the 2003 season, Kenneth had gotten into 9 games (7 as a starter) and scored 3 goals from midfield to go with 2 assists and some steady performances when we really needed them due to injury or suspension. He would look to be the Björn Andersson of our midfield in 2004, filling in for Labba or Lantto whenever necessary.

Dagfinn Solbakken, 17, Norwegian. The well-named Solbakken was the youngest player in the side, but was expected to fill an important role; he was the only capable backup that Marcus Jönsson had. Extremely capable, at that. Dagfinn was only beginning to realize the extent of his potential, but I hoped that regular first-team action would help him along.

Also: DM C Johan Hannu (transfer listed)

Attackers

Joakim Gunillasson, 26, Swedish. Pacey Gunillasson was a good solid striker; not worth much in the air, but he worked hard, moved well away from the ball and got his share of goals. He’d start in 2004.

Juha Tuominen, 20, Finnish. Juha bore the weight of expectations in his first year with Kiruna admirably, scoring 7 goals from 11 starts and 6 substitute appearances. Juha’s biggest disadvantage wasn’t really his fault, but his skill set was very similar to Gunillasson’s and so our midfielders had to remember to keep it strictly on the ground when passing to the strikers.

Jörgen Engström, 18, Swedish. Engström was the only offseason signing of 2004. A cheap player, his primary benefit to us was his skill in the air which we could use for a change of pace from Tuominen and Gunillasson. In a pinch, Engström could fill in at right wing.

Johan Stridsman, 23, Swedish. Johan was an enigma, a player who was pretty average physically and not too great of a dribbler but who showed rare flashes of potential. At any rate, with the size of our squad, it was likely that we’d need him before the year was out.

Peter Asp, 26, Swedish. Peter really, honestly had no skill to speak of. He was a very determined, brave striker who was usually shorter, slower, and weaker than every player on the opposing team. And he was transfer listed. But again, due to our squad’s lack of depth, it wasn’t unthinkable that he would play a role before the season was over, and – who knew? – maybe he’d surprise me.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Andersson, Björn D C SWE 11.3.80 24 - - 750|:- 21.11.04 80|TKr - Asp, Peter S C SWE 18.8.77 26 - - 1,7|TKr 7.11.04 Free - Bergström, Johan D/M R SWE 19.9.83 20 - - 2,3|TKr 5.11.06 400|TKr - Danielsson, David D/AM LC SWE 28.4.85 18 - - 750|:- 20.11.04 10|TKr - Engström, Jörgen F RC SWE 22.2.86 18 - - 600|:- 1.11.04 60|TKr - Gunillasson, Joakim S C SWE 10.11.77 26 - - 2,5|TKr 15.11.04 160|TKr - Haglund, Kenneth M C SWE 24.7.85 18 - - 750|:- 27.11.04 80|TKr - Hannu, Johan DM C SWE 10.3.72 32 - - 650|:- 8.11.04 Free - Henriksen, Frode GK NOR 7.2.85 19 - - 1,2|TKr 7.11.05 100|TKr - Hrnjic, Amel GK SWE 6.4.82 21 - - 0|:- 14.11.04 1,9|MKr - Jönsson, Marcus M LC SWE 15.10.78 25 - - 2|TKr 18.11.05 400|TKr - Kjellin, Robert D LC SWE 11.3.73 31 - - 2,75|TKr 18.11.05 900|TKr - Labba, Nils Johan M C SWE 5.11.84 19 - - 2,2|TKr 8.11.05 400|TKr - Langseth, Frank D RC NOR 17.2.80 24 - - 2,75|TKr 5.11.05 120|TKr - Lantto, Erik AM C SWE 10.3.80 24 - - 2,75|TKr 24.11.05 850|TKr - Larsen, Lars D L DEN 20.1.83 21 - - 950|:- 28.11.04 20|TKr - Lindmark, Marcus D R SWE 12.5.83 20 - - 2,1|TKr 2.11.05 280|TKr - Oscarsson, Kalle D/DM C SWE 27.6.86 17 - - 750|:- 5.11.04 20|TKr - Samuelsson, Göran D C SWE 7.11.83 20 - - 650|:- 3.11.04 50|TKr - Sjöbom, Stefan D L SWE 31.10.73 30 - - 1,9|TKr 6.11.04 220|TKr - Solbakken, Dagfinn AM L NOR 6.1.87 17 - - 1,5|TKr 4.11.04 80|TKr - Stridsman, Johan F C SWE 3.6.80 23 - - 650|:- 7.11.05 40|TKr - Teigen, Geir D L NOR 11.7.85 18 - - 2,5|TKr 4.11.05 240|TKr - Tuominen, Juha S C FIN 16.10.83 20 - - 2|TKr 3.11.05 500|TKr ================================================== ============================================== 2004 Transfers========================================= ================================================== =====Date Player In From Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------5.2.04 Jörgen Engström Free Transfer Free 15.3.04 Amel Hrnjic Mjällby Loan Date Player Out To Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------15.11.03 Fredrik Johansson Released Free19.11.03 Magnus Rønning Released Free22.11.03 Magnus Gabrielsson Released Free22.11.03 Mikael Holmgren Released Free17.12.03 Jonas Axeldal Released Free19.12.03 Lars Ökvist Malmö Anadolu 30|Tkr26.12.03 Mikko Vikeväinen Väsby 40|Tkr5.1.04 Mattias Olofsson Arlanda Free 5.1.04 Niklas Svanelöv Askim Free 11.1.04 Joon Karlsson Degerfors Free 17.1.04 Jon Kero Bredaryd Free 19.1.04 Niklas Malmbring Falkenberg Free 21.1.04 Lars-Göran Niemälä FC Jazzmen Free 24.1.04 Hans Laaksonen Björnlunda Free 28.2.04 Tomas Lindgren Trollhättans FK Free ================================================== ============================================== 2004 Fixtures========================================== ================================================== ====Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26.3.04 Heden H Lombia Cup 2:0 340 Jönsson, Tuominen27.3.04 Luleå SK H Lombia Cup 1:0 520 Haglund28.3.04 Boden H Lombia Cup 4:1 355 Asp 2, Engström, M.Jönsson</pre>

retired_srhrose17

The steady flow of out-going players looked to have slowed to a trickle by the beginning of April, but it threatened to pick up again as David Danielsson and Kalle Oscarsson were both bid on by several teams before our first match of the season. Being the astute negotiator that I was, I let one team talk contract with each of them for free, and asked the others for small fees for the privilege. More on that after our first game of the season.

4.4.2004 at Norvalla, Skellefteå
Second Division North Game 1: Skellefteå (last year: 6th) vs. Kiruna (last year: 5th)
Last meeting: Kiruna 3-1 Skellefteå; overall vs. Skellefteå: 3W-0D-1L
F. Henriksen; F. Langseth, B. Andersson, R. Kjellin (c), G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Tuominen, J. Gunillasson. Subs: A. Hrnjic, S. Sjöbom, K. Haglund, J. Engström, P. Asp

Skellefteå came out with what looked like an extremely ambitious 4-2-4 formation, but were forced to defend right from the opening kickoff. It appeared that they weren’t prepared to do that effectively. After a period of Kiruna-controlled possession, our first real attack resulted in a goal. Geir Teigen, given free rein to use his powerful left foot from distance at any time he deemed appropriate, rocketed one into the area from about 30 yards out that took a deflection off of a defender and fell to Nils Johan Labba. The young midfielder simply tapped the ball to his left for Joakim Gunillasson to slam in for a 1-0 lead.

It was Kiruna and Gunillasson putting together the second nice attack of the game. Joakim started this one with a low, hard cross to his right for Juha Tuominen; the Finn’s shot was saved but not held by the stone-handed Skellefteå goalie and Gunillasson was right there to poke it over the line.

Skellefteå spent the rest of the half and indeed the game trying to get back into it. Though they did make some slight inroads towards that goal, they would have needed far more than ninety minutes to force Frode Henriksen into a save, much less to put one past him. As for us, most of our attacking for the rest of the game went through Juha, who peppered Skellefteå’s net with shots but couldn’t quite break the plane, it seemed.

Skellefteå 0-2 Kiruna
J. Gunillasson 6’ (N. Labba), 16’
Subs: K. Haglund for E. Lantto, 75’; J. Engström for J. Bergström, 75’
Misc.: F. Langseth, yellow card, 45’
Att.: 1417
***

Four other teams in D2 North won that day, and our goal differential was better than two of them, so we were in third after the first game of the season.

In the days following the game, Danielsson agreed to terms with First Division club Sandvikens IF, earning us a meager but much-appreciated 10,000 SEK. Oscarsson, for his part, stayed in D2, moving to East Gotaland and Sylvia on a free transfer. After their departures, our squad was 22 men strong, and the average age rose to 22.59. The 21 players that earned wages were picking up 35,000 SEK per week between them.

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Juha Tuominen picked up a slight knock in training before our next game and so for safety’s sake he was moved to the bench with Peter Asp coming in to start.

11.4.2004 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna
Second Division North Game 2: Kiruna (3rd) vs. Luleå Fotboll (12th)
Last meeting: Kiruna 2-0 Luleå Fotboll; overall vs. Luleå Fotboll: 3W-1D-1L
F. Henriksen; F. Langseth, B. Andersson, R. Kjellin (c), G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; P. Asp, J. Gunillasson. Subs: A. Hrnjic, S. Sjöbom, K. Haglund, J. Engström, J. Tuominen

We were eager to get a good result in our first home match of the season, against a team which had been unlucky to lose their first game. This one started off with some excitement. Erik Lantto, normally not the most flamboyant of players, got free in the penalty area for a bicycle kick that went into the stand behind the goal to a chorus of laughs and sarcastic cheers. Lantto was all smiles once he picked himself up off of the ground and got back to business.

Kiruna were providing the impetus for most of the action throughout the opening stages and so it came as little surprise when we got the first goal. Nineteen minutes in, a deflected shot by Joakim Gunillasson earned us a corner. Marcus Jönsson was pretty good at taking those and showed it once again this time, with Robert Kjellin’s head being the lucky thing that the ball bonked off of.

Now that we had the lead and were continuing to dominate possession, the game was looking pretty safe, but I guess they play more than 20 minutes for a reason. Just before halftime, Björn Andersson was guilty of holding back Fotboll’s most dangerous striker, Magnus Barsk, inside of the penalty area. Barsk took the spot kick and scored it easily.

The tie game worried me more and more as the second half went on and we were unable to score; we deserved more than a single point, I felt. And once Kenny Haglund came on for Nils Johan Labba, he made sure we got all three, scoring off of another Jönsson corner. Fotboll’s best chance afterwards was a free kick that was well saved by Frode Henriksen; Joakim Gunillasson removed any doubt of the outcome with a goal from Man of the Match Jönsson’s third assist of the game, this one a cross from open play.

Kiruna 3-1 Luleå Fotboll
R. Kjellin 19’ (M. Jönsson); M. Barsk pen 45’; K. Haglund 71’ (M. Jönsson); J. Gunillasson 78’ (M. Jönsson)
Subs: K. Haglund for N. Labba, 67’
Misc.: F. Langseth, yellow card, 72’; B. Andersson, yellow card, 90’
Att.: 779
***

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Juha’s little thigh injury cleared up nicely before our next game and so he came back into the starting lineup for the next match after some good deputizing by Peter Asp, who returned to the bench. We were in first place going into this game!

18.4.2004 at Björknäsvallen, Boden
Second Division North Game 3: Boden (4th) vs. Kiruna (1st)
Last meeting: Kiruna 4-1 Boden; overall vs. Boden: 2W-2D-3L
F. Henriksen; F. Langseth, B. Andersson, R. Kjellin (c), G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Tuominen, J. Gunillasson. Subs: A. Hrnjic, S. Sjöbom, K. Haglund, D. Solbakken, P. Asp

This was, frankly, another relatively easy win. It started off a bit shaky, though, Boden mounting the first attack of the game which resulted in a shot wide. That was the jump start for us. Three shots by Juha failed for varying reasons before his fourth finally went in – the result of, yes, a Marcus Jönsson corner.

Boden sandwiched a couple of misses around a Gunillasson shot that was saved, and then it was Joakim’s turn to score unassisted for his fourth goal of the league campaign. The lead remained comfortable up until halftime.

After the break, Boden mounted a few half-hearted attacks, but Frode Henriksen was never even forced into a save and Boden gave up the ghost without much protest.

Boden 0-2 Kiruna
J. Tuominen 21’ (M. Jönsson); J. Gunillasson 38’
Subs: D. Solbakken for M. Jönsson, 91’; P. Asp for J. Tuominen, 91’
Misc.: -
Att.: 777
***

The fine victory kept us in first place with three wins from three and a better goal differential than fellow nine-pointers Söderhamn and Gimonäs. There was bad news in midweek, when Frank Langseth succumbed to a groin injury in training and looked to be out of action for about a month. With Marcus Lindmark still out and very questionable as far as availability for next Sunday’s game, the right back spot was going to be very touch and go for us.

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As it turned out, there was no way Lindmark was fit to play more than a couple of minutes, so Stefan Sjöbom made his first start of the season on the unfamiliar right side, and Lars Larsen was drafted in from the reserves to the bench.

25.4.2004 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna
Second Division North Game 4: Kiruna (1st) vs. Selånger (4th)
Last meeting: Selånger 0-2 Kiruna; overall vs. Selånger: 3W-0D-1L
F. Henriksen; S. Sjöbom, B. Andersson, R. Kjellin (c), G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Tuominen, J. Gunillasson. Subs: A. Hrnjic, L. Larsen, K. Haglund, D. Solbakken, P. Asp

A poor beginning to this match saw the visitors take the lead after just six minutes. Selånger were, without question, a talented side which had underachieved during the past few seasons, and midfielder Patrik Johansson was one of the players that contributed a fair chunk of that talent. He exhibited it here, scoring on Selånger’s second shot of the game.

Finding ourselves in the unfamiliar position of being down early, we were somewhat tentative during the rest of the first half. Only a couple of shots ended up threatening the Selånger goal during the first 45 minutes. I was pretty clueless about how to adjust at halftime, and so we didn’t make any changes during the break.

As it turned out, changes weren’t necessary. After a lot of ineffective passing to start the half, we struck twice within five minutes to take the lead. First it was Juha controlling a pass from Nils Johan Labba before rifling it past Selånger’s helpless goalie, and then Lantto poked in a rebound from a saved Gunillasson shot.

Now with a lead and looking pretty much in control, I felt safe enough to substitute Jönsson and Tuominen with about ten minutes to play. Bad move. Björn Andersson gave away a penalty which ex-Bristol Rovers man Marcus Andreassen put away with ease. Without the attacking power of Jönsson and Tuominen in the lineup, we just didn’t have it in us to grab another goal.

Kiruna 2-2 Selånger
P. Johansson 6’; J. Tuominen 59’ (N. Labba); E. Lantto 63’; M. Andreassen pen 85’
Subs: D. Solbakken for M. Jönsson, 82’; P. Asp for J. Tuominen, 82’
Misc.: -
Att.: 762
***

Goodbye, perfect record. Söderhamn could only draw, too, but Gimonäs won again and so took the top spot.

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Marcus Lindmark recovered sufficiently before the first game of May to relieve our problems at right back. His hamstring was still a little tender, but we needed him, so into the lineup he went against Östersunds FK.

2.5.2004 at Lombiavallen, Kiruna
Second Division North Game 5: Kiruna (2nd) vs. Östersunds FK (5th)
Last meeting: Östersunds FK 3-1 Kiruna; overall vs. Östersunds FK: 2W-0D-2L
F. Henriksen; M. Lindmark, B. Andersson, R. Kjellin (c), G. Teigen; J. Bergström, E. Lantto, N. Labba, M. Jönsson; J. Tuominen, J. Gunillasson. Subs: A. Hrnjic, S. Sjöbom, K. Haglund, J. Engström, P. Asp

Having failed to take three points from our previous game, we were not eager to drop points in our second consecutive home match. An easy victory looked decidedly improbable after the first twenty minutes or so, though. Östersunds’ young striker Andreas Arvidsson terrorized our defense and got off three shots, thankfully without hitting the target once.

It was, predictably, Marcus Jönsson who reversed our fortunes somewhat after we weathered the initial onslaught. His first effort at creation ended in a Lantto volley that hit the side netting, but Marcus’ second try resulted in a goal, albeit indirectly. He held up the ball allowing Geir Teigen to overlap him, chipped it forward, and the young Norwegian controlled and put in a cross to the near post that Joakim Gunillasson blasted in. It was Teigen’s first senior assist – hopefully one of many!

The goal ignited our efforts, it seemed, because aside from one scary counterattack that fizzled out due to taking way too damn long, Östersunds didn’t manage another shot on goal in the half. We, on the other hand, did fire in another couple of shots, one of which found net. Marcus Lindmark, showing no ill effects from his injury, hammered in a cross from Jönsson just before the break.

The visitors regrouped nicely in the second half and even grabbed a goal back after an hour of play, but Frode Henriksen made a couple of nice saves late on and Björn Andersson sealed the win with a late headed goal.

Kiruna 3-1 Östersunds FK
J. Gunillasson 26’ (G. Teigen); M. Lindmark 42’ (M. Jönsson); S. Alm 64’; B. Andersson 81’
Subs: K. Haglund for N. Labba, 79’
Misc.: R. Kjellin, yellow card, 89’
Att.: 755
***

Gimonäs won again, and so they remained in first place while we hung tenaciously on to second:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Swedish Second Division NorthPos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Gimonäs 5 3 0 0 6 2 2 0 0 4 2 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd **Kiruna** 5 2 1 0 8 4 2 0 0 4 0 13 3rd Söderhamn 5 2 0 0 5 2 2 1 0 5 2 13 4th Skellefteå AIK 5 2 0 1 5 2 1 0 1 3 2 9 5th Selånger 5 2 0 1 6 5 0 2 0 4 4 8 6th Luleå Fotboll 5 1 1 1 5 6 1 0 1 4 3 7 7th Östersunds FK 5 2 0 0 6 3 0 1 2 2 5 7 8th Boden 5 0 2 1 2 4 1 0 1 5 4 5 9th IFK Luleå 5 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 3 3 9 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10th Heden 5 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 7 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11th Luleå SK 5 0 0 2 1 4 0 1 2 4 7 1 12th Assi 5 0 0 2 1 5 0 1 2 1 5 1 </pre>