2003–04 Croatian Second Football League

Druga HNL
Season2003–04
ChampionsMeđimurje (North Division)
Pula 1856 (South Division)
PromotedMeđimurje
Pula 1856
RelegatedVirovitica
Sloga Nova Gradiška
Orijent

The 2003–04 Druga HNL (also known as 2. HNL) season was the 13th season of Croatia's second level football since its establishment in 1992. The league was contested in two regional groups (North Division and South Division), with 12 clubs each.

North Division

First stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Međimurje 22 16 3 3 53 19 +34 51 Qualification to play-off group
2 Belišće 22 13 7 2 50 19 +31 46
3 Vukovar '91 22 13 2 7 36 29 +7 41
4 Grafičar Vodovod 22 9 5 8 37 28 +9 32
5 Slavonija Požega 22 8 7 7 34 33 +1 31
6 Metalac Osijek 22 8 6 8 40 36 +4 30
7 Virovitica 22 8 6 8 31 29 +2 30 Qualification to play-out group
8 Čakovec 22 7 5 10 31 44 −13 26
9 Koprivnica 22 6 6 10 33 45 −12 24
10 Dilj 22 6 5 11 38 50 −12 23
11 Valpovka 22 5 2 15 23 56 −33 17
12 Sloga Nova Gradiška 22 3 6 13 13 31 −18 15
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Play-off Group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Međimurje (C, P) 32 21 6 5 70 28 +42 69 Qualification to promotion play-off
2 Belišće 32 19 8 5 66 27 +39 65
3 Slavonija Požega 32 13 10 9 54 47 +7 49
4 Vukovar '91 32 14 5 13 45 54 −9 47
5 Grafičar Vodovod 32 12 9 11 51 36 +15 45
6 Metalac Osijek 32 10 8 14 48 56 −8 38
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Play-out Group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Koprivnica 32 12 8 12 56 58 −2 44
8 Dilj 32 10 10 12 53 57 −4 40
9 Virovitica[a] (R) 32 10 8 14 39 48 −9 38
10 Čakovec 32 9 8 15 45 65 −20 35
11 Valpovka 32 9 4 19 39 71 −32 31 Qualification to relegation play-off
12 Sloga Nova Gradiška (R) 32 7 8 17 29 48 −19 29 Relegation to Croatian Third Football League
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ NK Virovitica withdrew from the competition at the end of the season

South Division

First stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Pula 1856 22 12 7 3 38 19 +19 43 Qualification to play-off group
2 Solin Građa 22 12 3 7 39 25 +14 39
3 Pomorac 22 10 9 3 36 26 +10 39
4 Šibenik 22 12 1 9 36 28 +8 37
5 Segesta 22 11 3 8 32 27 +5 36
6 Novalja 22 10 4 8 29 25 +4 34
7 Uskok Klis 22 9 7 6 35 33 +2 34 Qualification to play-out group
8 Imotski 22 7 4 11 28 33 −5 25
9 Hrvatski Dragovoljac 22 6 7 9 20 26 −6 25
10 Croatia Sesvete 22 6 6 10 29 38 −9 24
11 GOŠK Dubrovnik 22 4 8 10 20 38 −18 20
12 Orijent 22 1 5 16 15 39 −24 8
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Play-off Group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Pula 1856 (C, P) 32 18 8 6 59 33 +26 62 Qualification to promotion play-off
2 Pomorac 32 16 10 6 55 39 +16 58
3 Segesta 32 15 4 13 51 46 +5 49
4 Šibenik 32 15 4 13 45 42 +3 49
5 Solin Građa 32 15 3 14 56 47 +9 48
6 Novalja 32 14 6 12 43 40 +3 48
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Play-out Group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Uskok Klis 32 13 10 9 46 44 +2 49
8 Hrvatski Dragovoljac 32 11 9 12 36 35 +1 42
9 Croatia Sesvete 32 11 8 13 40 47 −7 41
10 Imotski 32 11 5 16 40 44 −4 38
11 GOŠK Dubrovnik 32 9 10 13 33 48 −15 37 Qualification to relegation play-off
12 Orijent (R) 32 2 7 23 23 62 −39 13 Relegation to Croatian Third Football League
Source: RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Promotion play-off

Međimurje and Pula 1856, winners of the North and South Division, qualified for a two-legged promotion play-off, which took place on 12 and 16 May 2004. The tie ended in a 2–2 aggregate score and Pula 1856 won it after the penalty shootout ended 5–4 in their favor, thereby earning promotion to the Prva HNL for the following season.

Međimurje2 – 0Pula 1856
Kelemen 14'
Ribić 26'		 Report
(in Croatian)
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Željko Širić (Osijek)
Pula 18562 – 0Međimurje
Jerneić 38', 59' Report
(in Croatian)
Penalties
Ostović soccer ball with red X
Deranja soccer ball with check mark
Raić-Sudar soccer ball with check mark
Trešnjić soccer ball with check mark
Iftić soccer ball with red X
Dobrić soccer ball with red X
Pauletić soccer ball with check mark
Jerneić soccer ball with check mark		 5 – 4 soccer ball with check mark Domjanić
soccer ball with red X Ribić
soccer ball with check mark Šarić
soccer ball with red X Ratković
soccer ball with check mark Perić
soccer ball with red X Sesar
soccer ball with check mark Haxhiu
soccer ball with red X Batista
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Edo Trivković (Split)

However, Međimurje had another chance for promotion, as the losing team from the promotion play-off played another two-legged tie against the 11th placed team of Prva HNL, Cibalia. Međimurje won 4–2 on aggregate and was promoted to 2004–05 Prva HNL.

See also