Marines FC made mincemeat of archrivals Etincelles FC with a comfortable 3-1 victory in an epic Peace Cup round of 16 encounter held at the Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu on Wednesday.
Yves Rwasamanzi’s men came into the game determined to build on their confidence from Sunday’s 4-0 victory over Espoir. They dominated possession and capped it with three superb goals against hapless Etincelles who looked lost during the derby.
It took just 19 minutes for Arthur Gitego who, ahead of the clash, said that he knows how to beat Etincelles, to get on the score sheet with a fabulous strike which sent the fans agog.
Marines pinned Etincelles into their own half as they piled incessant pressure on them and the latter could not move out to attack their opponents.
Marines doubled the lead after 40 minutes from Keddy Nsanzimfura, who is on loan from APR. The midfielder made a fine effort from a spot kick following an infringement in the penalty box.
Etincelles, sensing that their defense was porous, resulted in man marking in an effort to stop the fluid Marines attack.
After recess, Arthur Gitego netted his second and Marines third on the day in the 50th minute as they put the game beyond the reach of Etincelles.
Etincelles pressed on and scored a face saving goal in the 77th minute through Hadji Bizimana as Marines held on to a 3-1 win.
Marines are now one step to the quarter finals but all will depend on how the team will respond when the two clubs renew their rivalry in the second leg slated for March 8 at Umuganda Stadium.
Elsewhere, in Nyagatare, Police FC beat Sunrise 2-1 at Nyagatare Stadium. Didier Mugisha opened the scoring for the visitors after just one minute before Danny Usengimana doubled the lead in the 1oth minute. In-form Samson Babuwa halved the deficit for the home team in the 31st minute but the law enforcers held on to win the game 2-1.
In other fixtures, Kiyovu Sports defeated La Jeunesse 3-2 while Ivoire Olympique did the unthinkable result by holding giants APR FC to a goalless draw. The military side was made to pay for the fact that head coach Ben Moussa introduced his second team against the minnows.
Mukura beat Rutsiro 2-1 in Huye while Musanze FC also travelled to Nyamata to hold Bugesera to a barren draw.
On Wednesday, Rayon Sports beat Intare FC 2-1 while Esperance were beaten 1-0 at home to Rwamagana.
The return leg will be played on March 7 and March 8.