High flying APR FC dominated Police FC with a convincing 3-1 win on Sunday at Kigali Pele Stadium to close the gap between them and league leaders Rayon Sports to just 2 points.
Robertinho’s side slipped again in an earlier fixture when they were held to a goalless draw against Gasogi United, giving their title rivals a reason to go into their battle with Police targeting nothing but all three points to trim their gap at the top before the pair face in the derby on Sunday, March 9 at Amahoro Syadium.
After early exchanges, the first chance of the game fell to Hakim Kiwanuaka after just two minutes into the match. He was nicely played through by Djibril Ouatarra but he blasted his effort wide.
APR were dangerous every time they moved forward. They were so swift as they found a leeway on the right side of the Police defense.
A cross from Gilbert Byiringiro found an unmarked Hakim Kiwanuaka in the Police penalty box in the 9th minute and the Ugandan winger made no mistake as he headed past Patient Niyongira to give Darko Novic the lead.
Elijah Ani went on a solo run in the 14th minute as he went past three APR players. He wanted to lay a pass to Didier Mugisha but the winger failed to create space to receive the ball and the chance was missed.
Ouattara again used his pace to great effect as he twice went past his marker in the 20th and 26th minutes, but to Niyongira’s relief, he blasted his shot over the bar.
Pierre Ishimwe, who started in the posts in the absence of Pavelh Ndazila who is sidelined through illness, denied Ani the equalizer in the 32nd minute with a point-blank save after the striker had connected with Muhadjiri Hakizimana's cross.
Police FC had a call for a penalty rejected by the referee in the 40th minute after the ball had hit the hand of Yunusu Nshimiyimana. Skipper Muhadjiri vented his fury towards the referee in protest of his decision before the latter booked him with yellow card.
The teams headed into the halftime break with APR leading 1-0 after dominating the first half with numerous scoring chances.
Before the second half started, Novic brought on Gilbert Mugisha for Lamine Bah and Seidu Dauda for Hakim Kiwanuaka, looking to reinforce and his wings.
Ouatarra made it 2-0 for APR short after the break after the Police FC defenders failed to clear their lines. Niyongira saved Denis Omedi's initial ball before Ouatarra poked in the rebound for the second goal in the 47th minute.
Police coach Vincent Mashami made his first substitution in the 50th minute, bringing on Chukwuma Odili for Lague Byiringiro who was struggling against his former club.
APR extended their lead in the 52nd minute after Samuel Ndizeye tripped Bosco Ruboneka from behind inside the box in the 52nd minute and the referee whistled for a penalty. Ouatarra made no mistake as he sent Niyongira the wrong way to make it 3-0 for APR.
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Omedi and Ouatarra were later substituted for Mamadou Sy and Olivier Dushimimana in the 73rd minute as Police maintained their dominance in ball possession.
APR made their final change in the 80th minute as they pulled out Ismail Nshimirimana for Ramadhan Niyibizi.
The defending champions continued to possess the ball as they passed among themselves to kill time.
Police reduced the deficit in the 90th minute through Henry Msanga who was set up by substitute Djibrine Akuki.
The law enforcers could have reduced the deficit to 2-3 after they were awarded a penalty in the 93rd minute but Ishimwe saved Didier Mugisha's penalty kick to keep the scores at 3-1 till fulltime.
The army side now remains in second place with 40 points, two behind Rayon Spoerts who are at the summit of the league with 42 points, despite their recent unimpressive performance.