CUP === Final: Viking - Bryne 3-0 Semifinals: Bryne - Lillestrøm 4-0 Viking - Odd Grenland 2-1 Quarterfinals: Bryne - Vålerenga 3-2 Lillestrøm - Brann 3-0 Odd Grenland - Sogndal 2-0 Viking - Tromsø 1-0 LEAGUE ====== PREMIER DIVISION For a change the title race was wide open until the last round. But the eventual outcome was the usual one with Rosenborg winning the title for a record 10th successive time. To everybody's surprise Lillestrøm pushed them all the way, and even had the upper hand before losing the title decider at home few weeks from the end. A second place and a Champions League qualification was well deserved. Viking had a very good start, leading the table for most of the spring, but faded slightly in autumn. The cup final win against neighbours Bryne was a welcome consolation prize. Stabæk finished fourth and secure a UEFA Cup place thanks to Viking's cup win. They were also the only team to beat Rosenborg twice without conceding any goal. Molde and Odd Grenland occupied upper midtable positions throughout the season, without having a chance for any silverware. Brann was a big disappointment in seventh, after silver last season. A far too generous defence and lost points against lesser teams let them down. Newcomer Sogndal was a pleasant surprise with al their young players. Bodø/Glimt and Moss had another season just above the relegation zone, whereas another newcomer Lyn saved their place, and without being outplayed by anyone. In the bottom three, Bryne looked certain to go down in August, but an excellent end of season meant play-off matches against Hamarkameratene, which were also won. Not so lucky were Strømsgodset, who leaked goals and the northern-most team Tromsø, who could hardly score any. Both were relegated in the end. Rosenborg 26 17 6 3 71- 30 57 Champions Cup Lillestrøm 26 17 5 4 64- 33 56 Champions Cup Viking 26 14 7 5 43- 29 49 UEFA Cup (cup winner) Stabæk 26 14 3 9 45- 39 45 UEFA Cup Molde 26 13 5 8 54- 41 44 Odd Grenland 26 12 6 8 50- 40 42 Brann 26 12 5 9 63- 48 41 Sogndal 26 9 5 12 45- 61 32 Bodø/Glimt 26 7 8 11 45- 47 29 Moss 26 9 2 15 35- 48 29 Lyn 26 6 8 12 40- 49 26 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bryne 26 6 4 16 33- 61 22 Play-off ------------------------------------- Strømsgodset 26 3 10 13 40- 73 19 Relegated Tromsø 26 4 4 18 23- 52 16 Relegated Top scorers: ============ 17 goals: Thorstein Helstad, Brann Clayton Zane, Lillestrøm Frode Johnsen, Rosenborg 15 goals: Harald Martin Brattbakk, Rosenborg 14 goals: Jostein Flo, Strømsgodset Erik Nevland, Viking 13 goals: Magnus Powell, Lillestrøm 12 goals: Bengt Sæternes, Bodø/Glimt 10 goals: Trond Fredrik Ludvigsen, Bodø/Glimt Petter Furuseth Olsen, Brann Raymond Kvisvik, Brann Magne Hoseth, Molde Kim Larsen, Odd Grenland Attendance: =========== Club Average Brann 12 497 Rosenborg 12 144 Viking 7 887 Molde 6 601 Lillestrøm 6 448 Odd Grenland 5 053 Stabæk 4 228 Lyn 4 197 Bodø/Glimt 3 793 Tromsø 3 541 Strømsgodset 3 441 Bryne 2 933 Moss 2 730 Sogndal 2 282 ------ Total average 5 558 (total 1 011 565) FIRST DIVISION Little surprise at the top of the first division. Big spending Vålerenga won the division and return to the top flight after only one year away. And despite being deducted three points for using ineligible players (not registered) in several matches. The team from Oslo was accompanied up by Start, who was also relegated last year. Hamarkameratene are on their way back and finished third after a good and strong season. Haugesund could only finish fourth despite scoring the most goals. At the bottom the fight against relegation was tight as usual. Byåsen of Trondheim was last throughout the year and went down early. Kjelsås form Oslo followed them down a couple of rounds before the end. As did former premier division side Kongsvinger. The last place was decided in dramatic fashion in the the last round when Ørn-Horten scored twice in injury time to win against Vålerenga and subsequently pass Mandalskameratene with virtually the last kick of the season. Tough luck on the fresh newcomers from the south and their big following. Vålerenga 30 19 8 3 71- 29 62 Promoted* Start 30 18 8 4 59- 33 62 Promoted ------------------------------------- Hamarkameratene 30 18 6 6 59- 38 60 Play-off - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Haugesund 30 17 5 8 76- 44 56 Raufoss 30 15 5 10 61- 43 50 Aalesund 30 13 8 9 65- 51 47 Sandefjord 30 13 5 12 59- 54 44 Skeid 30 12 5 13 50- 41 41 L/F Hønefoss 30 10 10 10 45- 54 40 Tromsdalen 30 10 9 11 40- 56 39 Hødd 30 9 8 13 50- 51 35 Ørn-Horten 30 10 4 16 41- 72 34 ------------------------------------- Mandalskam. 30 9 5 16 49- 62 32 Relegated Kongsvinger 30 8 5 17 33- 57 29 Relegated Kjelsås 30 6 6 18 26- 50 24 Relegated Byåsen 30 3 3 24 29- 78 12 Relegated * Vålerenga 3 points deducted for fielding ineligible players. SECOND DIVISION The more competitive second division in four groups proved an instant success with good and exciting football all over. To the surprise of many, three of the four group winners and thereby promoted were new faces. Only Åsane from Bergen return to the first divison after a five year absence. The Oslo area had a good season, with superstructure Oslo Øst from the south-eastern parts of the capital, as well as Lørenskog from just east of Oslo being promoted for the first time. The last winner was Tollnes of Skien, who won a very strong group ahead of traditional clubs such as Eik-Tønsberg and Fredrikstad. Of the relegated clubs one notices former top division teams Asker and Gjøvik/Lyn among the unlucky ones. Group 1: ======== Tollnes 26 14 8 4 73- 47 50 Promoted ------------------------------------- FF Lillehammer 26 15 5 6 44- 31 50 Eik-Tønsberg 26 15 4 7 63- 44 49 Fredrikstad 26 15 2 9 52- 42 47 Bærum 26 12 5 9 60- 44 41 Nybergsund 26 12 3 11 43- 37 39 Ullensaker/Kisa 26 10 6 10 58- 58 36 Pors Grenland 26 11 3 12 46- 52 36 Kvik Halden 26 11 1 14 41- 38 34 Sprint/Jeløy 26 10 4 12 42- 54 34 Stabæk 2 26 10 3 13 46- 43 33 ------------------------------------- Asker 26 8 5 13 42- 56 29 Relegated Ullern 26 5 5 16 36- 68 20 Relegated Odd Grenland 2 26 5 4 17 47- 79 19 Relegated Group 2: ======== Åsane 26 19 4 3 57- 17 61 Promoted ------------------------------------- Fana 26 17 4 5 66- 36 55 Vard Haugesund 26 16 4 6 71- 40 52 Fyllingen 26 14 6 6 63- 48 48 Løv-Ham 26 14 1 11 59- 36 43 Nord 26 13 2 11 54- 50 41 Viking 2 26 11 4 11 71- 65 37 Vidar 26 11 3 12 60- 62 36 Førde 26 9 6 11 60- 70 33 Tornado 26 9 5 12 56- 63 32 Nest-Sotra 26 9 4 13 49- 51 31 ------------------------------------- Sandnes 26 9 4 13 47- 56 31 Relegated Florø 26 4 5 17 32- 69 17 Relegated Stord 26 1 0 25 31- 113 3 Relegated Group 3: ======== Oslo Øst 26 18 4 4 74- 36 58 Promoted ------------------------------------- Strindheim 26 15 5 6 70- 45 50 Rosenborg 2 26 15 4 7 58- 37 49 Romerike 26 14 5 7 66- 34 47 Træff 26 11 5 10 55- 50 38 Skarbøvik 26 10 6 10 47- 58 36 Steinkjer 26 10 5 11 44- 48 35 Clausenengen 26 10 5 11 55- 63 35 Molde 2 26 9 6 11 60- 50 33 Spjelkavik 26 8 6 12 49- 66 30 Verdal 26 8 5 13 42- 51 29 ------------------------------------- Gjøvik/Lyn 26 7 6 13 34- 48 27 Relegated Stjørdals/Blink 26 9 0 17 37- 74 27 Relegated Ranheim 26 6 2 18 37- 68 20 Relegated Group 4: ======== Lørenskog 26 18 5 3 69- 23 59 Promoted ------------------------------------- Skarp 26 17 2 7 85- 45 53 Lofoten 26 15 6 5 65- 43 51 Lyn 2 26 13 4 9 57- 41 43 Alta 26 13 1 12 60- 57 40 Stålkameratene 26 11 5 10 60- 67 38 Harstad 26 10 5 11 58- 49 35 Skjervøy 26 8 10 8 50- 50 34 Eidsvold Turn 26 10 3 13 52- 53 33 Mo 26 9 6 11 55- 61 33 Hammerfest 26 8 4 14 44- 58 28 ------------------------------------- Fauske/Sprint 26 8 2 16 46- 79 26 Relegated Narvik 26 6 6 14 43- 58 24 Relegated Finnsnes 26 5 3 18 32- 92 18 Relegated THIRD DIVISION After play-off games half of the 24 third division group winners were promoted: Follo (2), Frigg Oslo (5), Elverum (6), Grindvoll (7), Larvik Fotball (9), Jerv (10), Klepp (12), Brann 2 (15), Langevåg (17), Levanger (20), Vesterålen (22), Salangen (23). 2002 ==== Next season's group division of the teams in the second division has been decided as follows: PREMIER DIVISION (14) Bodø/Glimt, Brann, Bryne, Lillestrøm, Lyn, Molde, Moss, Odd Grenland, Rosenborg, Sogndal, Stabæk, Start, Viking, Vålerenga. FIRST DIVISION (16) Hamarkameratene, Haugesund, Hødd, L/F Hønefoss, Lørenskog, Oslo Øst, Raufoss, Sandefjord, Skeid, Strømsgodset, Tollnes, Tromsdalen, Tromsø, Ørn-Horten, Aalesund, Åsane. SECOND DIVISION (4x14) Group 1: Eidsvold Turn, Elverum, Follo, Fredrikstad, FF Lillehammer, Grindvoll, Kongsvinger, Kvik Halden, Lyn 2, Nybergsund, Romerike, Sprint/Jeløy, Stabæk 2, Ullensaker/Kisa. Group 2: Bærum, Clausenengen, Frigg Oslo, Kjelsås, Langevåg, Larvik Fotball, Molde 2, Pors Grenland, Skarbøvik, Spjelkavik, Strindheim, Træff, FK Tønsberg, Verdal. Group 3: Brann 2, Fana, Fyllingen, Førde, Jerv, Klepp, Løv-Ham, Mandalskameratene, Nest-Sotra, Nord, Tornado, Vard Haugesund, Vidar, Viking 2. Group 4: Alta, Byåsen, Hammerfest, Harstad, Levanger, Lofoten, Mo, Rosenborg 2, Salangen, Skarp, Skjervøy, Steinkjer, Stålkameratene, Vesterålen.