Goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari is looking forward to building on his excellent maiden TS Galaxy appearance, helping the club knock Mamelodi Sundowns out of the South African Telkom Cup.
The Rwandan shot stopper, who left AS Kigali for TS Galaxy as a free agent in June, was the hero at the Mbombela Stadium as his two saves in the penalty shootouts aided his team to a 5-4 victory in the first round hence progressing to the quarterfinals.
Ntwari emphasized that he is elated to excel in his debut appearance against a big club of Mamelodi Sundowns’ caliber and is only focused to keeping the momentum between the posts to bring an impact to the club’s performance this season.
"I am so happy to make my debut and it was indeed a day to remember. Thank God, it was not easy to start against a big opponent like Mamelodi Sundowns but I made the mark," he told Times Sport.
Ntwari is currently TS Galaxy’s second choice goalkeeper to Bosnian Vlasilije Kolak who was benched after he conceded three goals during club’s 3-0 league defeat to Stellenbosch FC on October 4.
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And the chance came at the right time for the former AS Kigali and Marines keeper who is now ready to fight for the starting role between the posts.
"I am looking forward to taking this opportunity because I don’t want to look back again. To be on the bench is not good for a player so I have to work harder so that I cement my place in the post," he said.
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Commenting on Sundowns game, Ntwari said it was a very difficult game especially since he conceded a last-minute equalizer goal which pushed the game to penalties.
"The game was good, we scored twice in the first half and they came back and equalized in the second half. They scored in the 98th minute to make it 2-2. It brought a big pressure on us because we thought we had killed the game until they scored," he recalls.
And reflecting on his heroics during the penalty shootouts where he saved two penalties, Ntwari stressed that he was undeterred as he believed in his spot kick saving abilities.
He stated that it is gift a God gave him and it remains one of his strongest holds as a goalkeeper.
"About penalties, it’s like a gift God gave me. I knew that I could save like two or three so I told my players to score four for me. I saved two and my guys also scored four so we went through."
For the short time he has been playing in South Africa, the Amavubi player was impressed by the standards of their Premier Soccer League (PSL) is top notch with so much quality, and helping to raise the standard of players.
"The South African league is tough. There are so many teams here which have top players so to get even three points from a game is not easy,” he said.
"Because the standard is high, if you play here, it also brings out the quality in you as you compete with great players."
Ntwari, 24, was groomed at the APR Academy before moving on loan to Marines FC in 2020. His impressive performance between the posts attracted AS Kigali who signed him in 2021 on permanent deal.
He spent two seasons at the club before joining TS Galaxy at the end of the 2022/23 season when his contract expired.
The shot stopper was on the wanted list of Congolese outfit AS Vita Club but he opted to join the South African side where he hopes he can seize opportunities to play for bigger clubs in the near future.