A magnificent 3-0 away win on the last day of the season against IFK Gothenburg meant GIF Sundsvall avoided the relegation play-off and live to fight another Allsvenskan season next year. But this was a nail biting campaign for Joel Cedergren who did his absolute best with the players at his disposal. Sundsvall have by far one of the smallest budgets in the league and, with finances biting hard at the club, to survive was the very best outcome. And that is exactly what they managed to do. They had been written off going into the last game of the season in the bottom three, but an unlikely triumph was a worthy full stop on a campaign that has been anything but easy.
Sundsvall started the season with a win against newly promoted AFC Eskilstuna, but the 3-1 victory proved to be a false dawn. Because they soon became draw specialists, able to frustrate their opposition without having the skills to come out on top, and at no point were they going to be anywhere else than in and around the bottom three. The 5-0 thrashing they endured at home to Djurgarden with only four games to go looked to be the nail in the coffin. And the 3-0 Gothenburg win on the last day of the season was actually their only victory in the last seven games. Incredibly that was enough to secure their status in the Swedish top flight.
Goals have been hard to come by for GIF Sundsvall this season. No player reached double figures, but Linus Hallenius deserves a mention for coming close to it with his eight goals. At the back Eric Larsson's displays have been rewarded with a transfer to champions Malmo, as Sundsvall have already lost one of their best defenders. At a club where the collective is very much in focus, Larsson's performances over the 28 games he played was surely the difference between skin of the teeth survival and sinking into the relegation mire.
Cedergren and Sundsvall have survived, but they left it as late as they possibly could. And unfortunately the only prospect they have in 2018 is to try and do it all again. They don't have the resources to compete for a top half finish really, but they will always strive to get closer to safety a bit earlier than they managed this season. They will be up for the challenge again next year, and will breathe a huge collective sigh of relief that their efforts this season were enough to still be an Allsvenskan team for the foreseeable future.
