Stromsgodset can now enjoy their cup final against Rosenborg at the weekend knowing that they secured their Eliteserien status with the final kick of the game. Because they were seconds away from being in the relegation play off final when Mostafa Abdellaoue came up with the goods against hosts Stabaek. The wild celebrations were of pure relief, because there is nothing else to be elated about for the Drammen club about this campaign. It has been a huge disappointment.
A barren run of two wins in the last eleven games saw them slip dangerously towards the trapdoor, and it was pretty incredible to see how the club managed to turn around such a successful 2017 campaign to one of near disaster 12 months later. And all with the same players. Bjorn Petter Ingebretsen will now have to oversee a change in playing personnel in the off season surely, because the current make up really doesn't look like its working.
Tokmac Nguen had a superb campaign, and Eirik Ulland Andersen was as dangerous as ever from set pieces. But defensively they were all over the place. Veteran players like Espen Bugge Pettersen, Lars Christopher Vilsvik, Mounir Hamoud, Kim Andre Madsen and even Marcus Pedersen the striker will surely be sweating on their future involvement after having very average campaigns.
Stromsgodset live to fight another day, and they had just about enough going forward to make sure that this campaign only nearly ended in disaster. It was a close shave that the Drammen club will surely not want to see again.
