Orange CAF Champions league 

Liga Desportiva De Maputo 0-0 APR

LEAGUE champions APR forced a goalless draw against Mozambique’s Liga Desportiva De Maputo in the first leg of the CAF Champions League encounter yesterday at the Estádio Da Liga Muçulmana in Maputo.

The army side got several chances in front of goal through the striking duo of Issa Bigirimana and Michel Ndahinduka but their efforts didn’t yield much.

Interim coach Vincent Mashami explained that, "It was not an easy game because we did not know this team’s style of play. It was the first time we were playing against them. We played well in the first 20 minutes but after that we lost possession so many times.”

"This team enjoyed playing at home in front of their fans, and we realised that they have gelled together as a team,” revealed Mashami.

In the second half, APR displayed moments of brilliance in attack with the introduction of substitute Andrew Buteera but struggled in the final third.

Assistant captain Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza added that, "Liga Desportiva De Maputo is physically strong and we established that they have team chemistry. We defended well from the beginning and in the second half we launched an attack on goal but did not manage to score.

"However, we shall correct all this in the return leg.”

The return leg will be played in Kigali a fortnight from now and Mashami is confident of APR going through.

He said, "We have seen their strengths and identified their problems and we shall use that to our advantage in the return leg.”

This was Mashami’s first assignment since former head coach Ljubomir Petrovic’s resignation last week, which the top club management revealed will not affect their objectives in the domestic league, in the region and on the continent.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw