The team went on to start the 2001–02 season strongly, recording two wins in the opening two matches and topping the table on Day 2. However, they ran out of luck thereafter and found themselves winning only 7 of their remaining 28 league matches, with 5 draws and 16 defeats. They finished 14th among 16 teams in the league that season and were effectively relegated back to the Croatian Second League. Many key players left the club immediately after the relegation in 2002, while some of them later moved to NK Međimurje, a new club formed in the summer of 2003 and playing in the same stadium. NK Međimurje went to play in the top flight between 2004 and 2008, and were again promoted there in 2009 after spending one season in the Croatian Second League.