Regionalliga Salzburg Matchday 32: USK Anif vs. FC Pinzgau Saalfelden
June 11 2022 (17:00 CET), Sportzentrum Anif
The Opposition
USK Anif were founded back in 1947, but it was not until the 1970s that they began to make a name for themselves. Their greatest achievement came when they were promoted to the Austrian second tier in 1978, although they picked up only eight points all season – a record low in the division to this day – and were immediately relegated.
In 2010, USK Anif became Red Bull Salzburg’s feeder club and were later renamed FC Liefering. FC Anif were subsequently re-founded and entered into a cooperation with the Red Bull Juniors. Promotion to the third tier followed in 2014/15 – at which point the cooperation with the RB Juniors was terminated and the club started playing as USK Anif once again.
Team News
For his last match as FC Pinzgau Saalfelden head coach, Christian Ziege will be without the midfield duo of Eren Aydinhan and Hasan Ibrahimi. Attacking players Joao Pedro and Semir Gvozdjar are not yet ready to make their comebacks from injury either.
Forward Tamas Tandari will take his goal tally for the season to 30 across all competitions if he scores in Anif. That would match the personal best he set in 2013/14, although that record came in the fourth tier and so to reach 30 again now would arguably represent a bigger achievement.
USK Anif midfielder David Hutter – who along with his twin brother Benjamin has agreed to join the Mountainous Pine Blues next season – could make a final appearance for his current club against his future employers.
Recent Form
While Seekirchen and Kuchl head into the final day with a chance of finishing top, FCPS will be competing with Bischofshofen for third spot. The Mountainous Pine Blues convincingly beat BSK 1933 4-1 last time out but have won only one of their previous 16 league away matches this season – a nail-biting 2-1 victory at Salzburger AK in the Fall season.
This is the ideal time to play Anif, however. Coach Markus Huber has overseen only one win in the last seven games – a 5-1 thrashing of bottom club SV Wals Grünau – and his charges have picked up just four out of a possible 21 points during that time. Anif currently occupy seventh spot with 24 points but could leapfrog SV Grödig into sixth place with a win on the final day.
Head-To-Head Record
FC Pinzgau Saalfelden have the inferior head-to-head record in this fixture, with five wins, one draw and nine defeats. But they have dominated recent meetings between the two teams, winning four of the previous six clashes – including a memorable 7-0 triumph in the Fall – and taking seven points out of a possible nine against Anif this season.