AS Kigali revel in ‘deserved’ APR win

SaturdayAmagaju FC 1-0 MusanzePolice FC 2-1 Sunrise FCAPR FC 0-1 AS KigaliBugesera 0-0 Kirehe FC FridaySC Kiyovu 1-2 Espoir After ending APR’s unbeaten record this season with a 1-0 victory on Saturday at Kigali Regional Stadium, AS Kigali coach Eric Nshimiyimana has urged his players to stay focused and not get carried away. Youngster Janvier Cyubahiro netted the only goal of the game in the 30th minute lashing home a good cross from Emmanuel ‘Crespo’ Sebanani. It was Jimmy Mulisa’s first defeat since taking over as APR head coach last month. AS Kigali dominated the game and had seven shots on target but scored just one goal while the defending champions had only two shots on target, with striker Issa Bigirimana missing both chances. The win leaves Eric Nshimiyimana’s side in third place with 26 points, one behind second-placed APR, who trail leaders Rayon Sports by two points. Rayon Sports will play against Pepiniere today at Kigali Regional Stadium. After beating his former club Nshimiyimana admitted that, “We deserved the win today because we dominated the game throughout. I must thank my players for the job well done. I am happy for the win, APR played only 15 minutes, after that we dominated the game. We had a game plan and it worked out well for us today. But we can’t afford to get carried away just because we have beat APR, the players know they must stay focused, there is still a long way to go, he stated. His opposite number, Mulisa, said, “We’re disappointed to lose today, we came into the match to win, but it hasn’t been our day. This is football, we created some good chances but we failed use them.” “We did not play the way we wanted, we started well in the first 15 minutes and after that we lost our way somehow. They scored two quick goals, put us under pressure and we failed to find our way back into the game,” noted the former Rwanda international. Meanwhile, Police FC moved back into the top four with a 2-1 home win over Sunrise FC at Kicukiro stadium, thanks to Danny Usengimana’s brace, which put his tally for the season to 10 goals in 12 matches. Last year’s joint top scorer gave Innocent Seninga’s team the lead in the 46th minute off Mohamed Mpozembizi’s assist and he added a second goal four minutes later while Nigerian Alexis Orotomel netted for the visitors in the 76th minute. Sunrise remain in 11th position with 16 points. Amagaju notched their third win of the season beating Musanze FC 1-0 at Nyagisenyi ground in Nyamagabe, thanks to Hussein Shabani’s goal in the 33rd minute. Bugesera FC played goalless against Kirehe FC at Nyamata ground. Espoir FC dropped to fifth place after the 2-1 win against SC Kiyovu on Friday at Mumena Stadium. The visitors, who were coming off their first loss of the season against APR last weekend, took the lead through Adolphe Hakundukize in the 13th minute before he added the second goal in the 48th minute. Former Amavubi forward Andre Lomami netted the consolation goal for Aloys Kanamugire’s side with a header in the 71st minute. It was Espoir’s sixth win of the season which takes them to 23 points and it was SC Kiyovu’s fifth defeat for the campaign and they remain in 8th place with 15 points from 12 matches. editorial@newtimes.co.rw