Kiyovu Sports pulled the nuts out of the blazing fire as they came from a goal down to beat Gorilla FC 3-1 at Kigali Pele Stadium in a Rwanda Premier League week 19 game on Saturday.
The result brought their four-game unbeaten run, having last registered a win in December when they relegation rivals Vision FC.
Gorilla FC started the match looking match sharper. They piled pressure on Kiyovu Sports from the onset as they left no room for them to operate that to their strong midfield trio of Victor Murdah, Hesbon Rutonesha and Keddy Nsanzimfura operated.
The first chance of the game fell to Landry Ndikumana but his effort missed target on the 15th minute.
Kiyovu's strongest hold was on the right where veteran defender Abdul Nizigiyimana was often causing problems to Gorilla’s defense with dangerous crosses.
His overlapping runs down the right flank was a delight to watch but his final delivery often failed to reach the target.
Gorilla FC switched play to the right as a ball was whipped in for Franck Nduwimana to finish in the 36th minute taking a 1-0 lead before half time break.
Kiyovu lifted up their game in the second half as they tried to play on the counter attacks.
They soaked pressure and tried to come out using the speed of their lateral defenders.
Their pressing resulted in a penalty in the 56th minute following an infringement in the Gorilla FC box. Lisele Tansele stepped up and beautifully dispatched it to make the scores 1-1.
The equalizer woke Gorilla FC coach Alain Kirasa up as he immediately pulled out Hesbon Rutonesha for Blaise Nishimwe and it did him no good as it instead weakened the midfield.
The Green Baggies’ confidence was visibly improving as they took control of the game by putting more men forward. David Byiringiro fired home a rebound from a free kick in the 69th minute to give Kiyovu a 2-1 lead after Gorilla FC defense had failed to clear their lines.
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Malick Wade, who is currently taking charge of Kiyovu Sports since Marcel Lomami was suspended, brought on Kevin Ishimwe in the 80th minute to add more bite to his attack as they continued to dominate the second half.
Byiringiro was brought down in the 88th in the Gorilla FC penalty box after he was beautifully played through from midfield. Substitute Ishimwe made no mistake from the penalty box as he nicely buried the ball to give Kiyovu a 3-1 lead.
Kiyovu brought more men to the back as they defended gallantly in the final minutes of the game to record a 3-1 win. They have now moved to 15th on the league table with 15 points.
In other games, Bugesera FC shocked Amagaju 1-0 at Huye Stadium while Muhazi United ended Etincelles three-game unbeaten run with a narrow 1-0 win in Ngoma.
Elsewhere, AS Kigali travelled to Ubworoherane Stadium to beat Musanze 2-1 whereas Marines thrashed Mukura 3-1 at Umuganda Stadium.