APR coach Adil Mohamed Erradi and Kiyovu tactician Francis Haringingo know that it is going to be ‘all or nothing’ in the final match that will determine this season’s league title.
A victory against Police by any goal margin on Thursday at Kigali Stadium will see Adil inspire APR to the premier league title for the third time in a row but a different result coupled with a Kiyovu win will give the later their first league triumph in 29 years.
Prior to the league D-day, Adil told Times Sport that winning the tie against Police remains his top priority as he looks to end the season on a high.
"We are preparing for the Police game like any other match. Our priority is to win the match and get all three points,” Adil said in an interview.
"The title race with Kiyovu has been an excellent challenge. It really helped us to grow and learn even more,” the Moroccan tactician said.
Adil describes Kiyovu’s title challenge as one of the toughest he ever faced since he started coaching in Rwanda in 2019 and no wonder they are not giving up on the league title until the D-day.
APR’s one-point lead at the summit of the league table puts them in pole position to win the league title in case they beat Police FC. However, things would have been different had Kiyovu beaten Espoir recently to go top of the table.
Times Sport understands that the players were not mentally motivated ahead of the match against the Rusizi-based club as players were claiming their salary arrears for the month of May.
It was a situation Haringingo struggled to control and that cost him the match he should have won to put his club in a position to win their first league title in 29 years.
It was also reported that club President Juvenal Mvukiyehe had already given up on the title race but later regretted it when APR lost to AS Kigali on Monday.
The club has not yet paid the players but Secretary General Omar Munyengabe confirmed that they spoke to the players and asked them to win their final league game against Marines to keep their title hopes alive as they work on the wages issue.
"There is still a chance to win the league. It’s not over yet and it’s important to win our game and wait for the result between APR and Police. They [APR] could lose or draw,” he said.