Sarpsborg were expected to be among the sides in the bottom half of the table before the start of the season and indeed they struggled for form in the early games. They failed to even score in the first four games played and had just two points to show for their efforts in the first five games. But the team then exploded into form unexpectedly with heavy wins over IK Start and Molde that suddenly gave Geir Bakke’s side a lot of belief and momentum going forward. Their simple style of playing 4-4-2 and staying compact at the back proved very effective as players like Kristoffer Tokstad and Andres Trondsen had serious impact from midfield and Patrick Mortensen and Pål Kirkevold enjoyed productive campaigns in attack. Bakke’s side continued to over-perform compared to expectations, with the home form especially impressive as they kept clean sheets in six games in a row, winning five of them. The manager kept his foot on the ground and Sarpsborg went somewhat unnoticed as the season developed, even if the team was close to the European places. The lack of major injuries also contributed to the steady run of form and Sarpsborg managed to win five games out of six to find themselves in the top three by the start of July. Yet the loss of two important players in Jakob Glesnes and Tokstad proved a blow that would have a serious impact to their ambitions. The Blues’ form began to waver a lot more now and a run of one win in six in August and September meant that they lost pace with the other contenders for Europe. The team kept the fight until the final day of the campaign but always seemed like the underdogs in the tussle with Haugesund and Molde and eventually finished sixth. It is still a pretty successful campaign as the team developed very much over the course of the seven and a half months, with a few players breaking out. Bakke deserves special mention for the way he utilised a rather unremarkable squad and he will look to keep the progress next season.
