Football defies logic as things which have 1 out of 100 odds to happen can shockingly happen.
APR has opened a 13-points gap at the top of the table with six games left to end the 2023/24 season. The army side tops the table standings with 58 points and are unbeaten after 24 games while Rayon have 45 in second place.
There are 18 points still to play for and APR can only lose the title if they lose four five games from the remaining six while Rayon Sports has to win all their games in order to change the narrative.
Rayon Sports coach Julien Mette himself said that the title race was over by the time they lost the derby and the debate now shifts to who will end APR’s unbeaten run this season.
With the army side’s fantastic form, one won't be far from right to say that the title is a done deal. The army side seems to have run away with the league title and they could go unbeaten again and repeat what they did in the 2019/20 season when they lifted the title after just 23 games from which they won 17 and drew six.
The league season at the time ended after just 23 match days out of a possible 30 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
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It has been an impressive season for APR despite a few blemishes. They couldn't prevail at the big stage, when they got knocked out of CAF Champions League as they were walloped 6-1 on aggregate by Pyramid FC in the second qualifying round.
The league title is the only domestic cup that the club is is keen to win, having lost the 2024 Heroes Cup to Police FC via a 2-1 scoreline in the final whereas their dream of winning a double evaporated into thin air after shockingly crashing out of the quarterfinals of the Peace Cup, losing 4-3 on penalties to a makeshift Gasogi United side.
For the Champions League exit, one can pardon Thierry Froger, the games came too early and his entire new foreign players had not adopted yet but their performance in domestic cup games left club supporters disappointed to the point that they had started to call for the club hierarchy to sack him.
As time went by, the foreign players such as Victor Mbaoma , Sharaf Eldin Shaiboub and others have become abreast with the system. Local players namely Ramadhan Niyibizi, Alain Bacca Kwitonda, Clement Niyigena have also showed signs of improvement.
The defending League Champions are now firing from all angles. They easily dispatched then title challengers Rayon Sports 2-0 at Kigali Pele Stadium in Saturday’s derby to kill their ‘little’ hopes of winning the title.
APR’s biggest game left will be against AS Kigali on April 5. The last time they beat AS Kigali in the league was on December 23, 2018 where they won 3-0. Since then, there have been eight league games between them with seven ending in draws while AS Kigali won once.
Teams such as Mukura Victory Sports which gave Thierry Froger’s sode a tough time were all easily dispatched at their own backyard.
If any team can end APR's unbeaten run in the league this season, it could be AS Kigali who have been rejuvenated since Guy Bukasa took over the club in the second round of the season. The return of star striker Shabani Hussein was also a big boost for the Citizens who had struggled in the first half.
Probably no one will take the credit from Froger for the club’s current form. The Frenchman got booed by the fans a couple of times this season for poor output.
And he accepted the criticisms and worked on them to improve the team. With the group of players he has at his disposal, his side now looks likely to end the season unbeaten in the league.
From goalkeeper Pavelh Ndzila to striker Patrick Mbaoma, APR have been a team to beat. The league title is firmly in their hands...the only question is ‘can they go all the way and finish the campaign unbeaten’?
Only time will tell.