We won’t take chances in Bujumbura – AS Kigali coach

AS KIGALI have plenty of work to do in Bujumbura when they face Burundian Cup winners, Academie Tchite in their Caf Confederation Cup second leg this weekend. Coach Andrew Gasambungo has said as the team prepares to defend the 1-0 first leg win. Bodo Ndikumana’s strike gave AS Kigali a first leg 1-0 win at Stade de Kigali on Saturday. “Winning the game gives us the cushion, but we can’t afford to start thinking ahead of ourselves, it’s a very narrow lead,” Gasambungo said of the winners of the Rwanda Peace Cup last season. AS Kigali are making a second continental appearance since 2001 when the team then called Les Citadens didn’t go passed the qualifying round. The coach observed that the win in the first leg means the team goes to Bujumbura with something to defend in the second leg. Gasambungo noted that he hopes conditions in Burundi will allow his team to do what they “need to do” to advance to the first round. AS Kigali need a draw to progress to the next round where they will face Alhly Shandy of Sudan. “We have to go to Bujumbura and work 10 times harder than we did here in order to win that game and am sure my side will progress to the next round,” he stated. His counterpart of Academie Tchite, Jimmy Ndizeye conceded defeat, adding that his side lost to a better team in the first leg. “We gave them too much freedom, especially in the central midfield where we allowed them to manoeuvre the ball with too much ease,” Ndizeye admitted. He added: “AS Kigali front players had more pace than our defenders, you could see that especially towards the end of the match.” Ndizeye however, warned that the second leg won’t be a walk in the park for As Kigali. “I think we can overturn the score and reach to the next round. I am sure we will get a win at home, so it is not over yet,” added Ndizeye, a former SC Kiyovu and Les Citadens player. The two teams will square-off in the second leg in the Burundi capital this Sunday, with AS Kigali looking the favourites to progress, thanks to their one-goal advantage.

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We won’t take chances in Bujumbura – AS Kigali coach