Mutandwa assists and scores to remain in Austrian Bundesliga top scorer hunt

SV Ried maintained their push for European football next season in the Austrian Bundesliga with Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Blau-Weiß Linz.

Zambia national team forward Kingstone Mutandwa, on loan from Cagliari, contributed to both goals with an assist and a successful penalty kick to continue his excellent campaign.

Mutandwa helped the hosts open the scoring in the 29th minute when a quick attack down the right wing saw the ball find the Chipolopolo forward at the edge of the penalty area. His pass set up winger Ante Bajic for a low finish on a controversial goal, as it appeared that Bajic may have been offsides.

Mutandwa finishes off SV Ried victory with 14th goal

Late on, after a corner kick led to a foul in the Linz penalty area, Mutandwa fired in from the spot to confirm victory for the hosts. Despite finishing in the bottom half of the table during the league phase and having to compete in the relegation group, Ried are dominating lesser competition and remain firmly in top spot.

 

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With two matches remaining, they are well on their way to qualifying for a playoff to determine the Austrian top flight’s representatives in next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League and a win at home next week against Wolfsberger will finish the job.

And Zambian striker Mutandwa is a major reason for their recent success. He is once again level at the top of the league scoring charts with 14 goals, even with Sturm Graz playmaker Otar Kiteishvili. It is certainly a successful loan spell for the 23-year-old after struggling to break into the eleven at Serie A club Cagliari.