Morocco-bound AS Kigali look to defend slim lead

AS Kigali depart for Morocco this morning ahead of their second leg tie of the 1/8th round of Caf Confederation Cup against Difaâ El Jadida due this weekend in Casablanca.

Monday, March 24, 2014
AS Kigali skipper Jimmy Mbaraga (#18) leads his teammates onto the field on Saturday for the first leg clash at the Kigali Regional Stadium. (Timothy Kisambira)

AS Kigali depart for Morocco this morning ahead of their second leg tie of the 1/8th round of Caf Confederation Cup against Difaâ El Jadida due this weekend in Casablanca.

The Rwanda Peace Cup champions depart aboard Qatar Airways. They will make a stop-over in Doha before connecting to El Jadida where the team is expected to reach on Wednesday morning ahead of the clash.

AS Kigali will have their work cut out in Casablanca as head coach Andre Casa Mbungo will be keen to build on the 1-0 first leg win to advance further in the competition.

"We are confident and ready to defend our goal so as to reach the next round. It seems tricky to many but we can work out a way of progressing. Our target is to defend this goal though we expect a tough challenge,” said Casa Mbungo.

AS Kigali have maintained their 100 percent home record in this year’s competition, which started in early February.  The team has played five matches, winning three at home, drawing one in Burundi and losing in Sudan.

On Saturday, teenage striker Jean Paul Niyonzima came off the bench to score the only goal of the encounter after 67 minutes.

It was the third successive win for the debutants, after registering the same goal margin in the previous matches against Burundian side Academie Tchite and Sudanese Ahly Shendi in the past two rounds.

Rwandan clubs don’t have a good record against North African teams and the stakes will be high for AS Kigali as they bid to become the first Rwandan club to win in that part continent.