Jonkopings Sodra slipped into the bottom three on the last day of the season, despite a battling draw against high flying Ostersunds and after a tumultuous season where everyone has struggled, this surely can't come as much of a surprise to anyone. They will face Trelleborg over two legs to fight for their right to remain an Allsvenskan side. Considering their Superettan rivals have had a much better and positive campaign, the odds will be slightly stacked against Jonny Thelin's side. They have impressed very few people this season after being such a pleasant surprise in their first campaign back in the big time.
It was crystal clear very early on that Jonkopings Sodra would be one of the sides languishing near the foot of the table. And they will still be counting their lucky stars that they managed to keep two sides below them who had an even worse campaign than themselves. Because this was never a classic for Thelin's men. The low point was most definitely the 6-1 thrashing given to them against relegated Halmstads, proving that they were not much better than the sides scrapping in the bottom two. Jonkopings Sodra picked up 13 of their 30 points in the first ten games of the season, picking up just 17 points in the remaining 20. And, while they looked to have saved themselves with five points in the last three games, including draws against Djurgarden and Ostersunds, it wasn't enough in the end.
It's very hard to pick between Dzenis Kozica and Daryl Smylie in terms of best player of the season. They both shone for Jonkopings Sodra in a season of struggle. Thelin could not decide on the best back four, and there were also changes up front. But both Kozica and Smylie were the heartbeats of the team, and were very important to the cause. The season would've been a whole lot worse had either of them not been present.
It can all still go horribly for Jonkopings Sodra then, and a two legged play off later in the month will decide their fate. But they have shown patches of quality against bigger sides in recent weeks so they shouldn't be too worried about Trelleborg, especially at home. They must not dwell on slipping into the bottom three on the last day of the season though and, if they prepare for this relegation play-off right, they should still have enough quality to scrape through. And then the hard work for next season will begin, which will surely be another scrape for survival.
