Sirius came into the Allsvenskan for the first time since the 1970s, and, for long periods over the spring and summer months, they took to it like a duck takes to water. Only a disastrous collective lapse in form in the second half of the season prevented them from a top five finish, and Kim Bergstrand must be delighted overall with their campaign despite the tough run they endured late on.
They started the season on fire with a shock 2-0 win over a much fancied Djurgarden side, and repeated the feat two weeks later with an away win over Norrkoping. They were still riding the waves of their Superettan success the year before and there was almost an aura of fearlessness that swept over the Sirius players early on. Nothing was expected of them so why not go out an enjoy the occasion? It worked ever so well for the first part of the season, and the 3-3 comeback draw against eventual champions Malmo was fantastic. Then came the slide, coinciding with a serious injury to winger Moses Ogbu, and the sale of their star player Kingsley Sarfo. Sirius were in the limelight and the trouble with that was players who were performing were all of a sudden in the shop window and others were targeted as the men to stop on the pitch whatever the cost. The win over Halmstads in late August proved to be their last until October as a miserable seven game run of straight defeats meant Sirius sank like a stone. They then recovered to lose just one of their last four, as a top half finish beckoned after a 3-1 win over already relegated AFC Eskilstuna.
There's no doubt the club were left reeling after the sale of Kingsley Sarfo to Malmo. Before Moses Ogbu limped off against Hacken in August with an ankle injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season, the wide man had found the net six times in 15 games. Losing these attacking forces blunted Sirius for the remainder of the campaign and it was up to veteran players like Philip Haglund, Kim Skoglund and Jesper Arvidsson to provide the backbone when the chips were down. And Arvidsson in particular was influential at the back. Without him Sirius surely wouldn't have got themselves out of the mire at all and, while it's fair to say he lost his form along with the rest of the team, he never looked to pass the buck or shirk his responsibilities as one of the veteran players.
It will be interesting to see where Sirius go from here. They won't carry the same element of surprise in 2018 and their budget might be so modest that they might well be left behind in terms of pre-season spending. Bergstrand will once again look at the collectiveness of his group and add players accordingly. They have had once successful season back in the top tier of Swedish football but, whether they can build on this season and maintain this level, is entirely up in the air.
