Froger hails APR’s ‘best performance of the season’ after Police win
Monday, January 22, 2024
APR FC head coach Thierry Froger shouts to his players during Sunday’s 1-0 game against Police FC at Kigali Pele Stadium. Photo by Emmanuel Dushimimana

APR FC head coach Thierry Froger has described Sunday’s 1-0 victory against Police FC as the club’s best performance of the season so far.

Matchwinner Jean-Bosco Ruboneka was the hero as his 65th minute strike won the day for the military side, extending their unbeaten streak to 17 league games.

Froger heaped praise on his players for playing with a winning mentality but he wants them to build on it ahead of next fixtures.

"I consider this game our best performance so far since I arrived here, and we'll try to keep it up in the next games going forward," Froger told the press in a post-match interview.

The Frenchman admits Police were so dangerous, especially after conceding a goal, but his team stood firm and kept the opponents at bay.

"Police posed a threat through their strong left wing. However, we managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half and dealt with it well in the second half.

We aimed to be more effective in front of the goal, and in the end, we secured the three points," he added.

We did our best!

On the other side, Police FC coach Vincent Mashami said his team gave their best despite the loss.

The former Rwanda tactician was not impressed by his side’s missed chances while APR managed to capitalize the few they got in front of goal.

"Of course, we're not happy with the result because it's not the one we came for, but that's football," Mashami said.

"We knew that you don't get a lot of chances in these kinds of games, and we had our opportunities but couldn't convert them. APR took advantage of their fewer chances, and I believe that's what made the difference today."

"We prepared for the game very well, and I won't blame the loss on any individual. It's everyone's responsibility because we lost this game the same way we lost the first leg last year," he concluded.

Police are winless in the second round of the league, with defeat against APR FC coming a week after another 1-0 shock loss to relegation-threatened Sunrise FC.

APR now lead the title charge with 36 points, three points clear of second placed-Musanze FC. The league leaders’ gap could be extended to six points as they have one game to play.