Lillestrøm started the campaign with the clear determination to just secure safety and keep their heads above the water, given the limited quality of the squad and the lack of many major additions to the squad.
The results were mostly underwhelming at the start of the campaign as the team secured just two wins in the opening nine games and played supine, predictable football. A 3:0 win in the derby at Vålerenga in June, a rare case when the team just clicked going forward and played some neat football, was one of the few highlights of the season but it hardly inspired the team to get on a great run of form. They still mixed a few good results with some deflating implosions, mostly in away games.
The addition of Joonas Tamm at the back gave the Yellow and Black a mid-season bump and they had a solid run of results in August, winning three out of five games. Yet they never manage to win enough to really pull clear of trouble and the team led by Jorgen Lennartsson slumped badly in the final third of the season.
They went winless in their final 11 games and rarely looked like getting a goal in any of them, looking overly cautious and lacking the energy and drive in the final third to make the difference.
They had a chance to secure safety with a win over direct rivals Sarpsborg in a crucial game on the last day but mustered only a goalless draw and went into a play-offs against IK Start. In between the last league game and the play-offs, the club also fired Lennartson and gave Tom Nordille the job of securing safety.
A 2:1 loss in the first leg away set up a tight second leg. Things looked great at home for Lillestrøm as they shot up to a 4:0 lead by the hour. Yet they completely collapsed after that and conceded three goals to suffer a stunning loss on away goals. It was one of the most shambolic implosions at any level and consigns the team in Yellow and Black to a season in the second-division, while also forcing the entire club into some soul-searching after a few very aimless and disappointing years of treading water near the bottom of the table.
