Ndizeye praises Espoir’s ‘excellent show’ against Kiyovu

SundayEtincelles vs MarinesRayon Sports vs PepiniereGicumbi vs Mukura FridaySC Kiyovu 1-2 Espoir Espoir FC head coach Jimmy Ndizeye has hailed his side after what he described as “excellent show” in the 2-1 win against SC Kiyovu in a national football league match played on Friday at Mumena Stadium. The visitors, who were coming off their first loss of the season against defending champions APR FC last weekend, took the lead through Adolphe Hakundukize’s powerful header in the 13th minute off a cross from left winger by Hussein Renzaho before adding the second goal in the 48th minute. Former Rwandan international forward Andre Lomami netted a 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 into fourth place with 23 points, level with third-placed AS Kigali, who were due to face APR on Saturday. For Kiyovu, it was a fifth defeat for the campaign and they remain in 8th place with 15 points from 12 matches—however, the Green Baggies could find themselves out of the top ten after this weekend’s matches. The home side dominated and could have won had striker Jean Claude Nizeyimana not missed a penalty in the eighth minute and wasted two other open chances, same as Lomami and Djuma Nizeyimana. “We have to enjoy this win because we lost the last one, which was the first for the season, so winning here today keeps us closer to the top teams, everyone played his part in getting this win against Kiyovu who have done well in the last couple of matches,” Ndizeye said after Friday’s win. He noted that, “We have shown everyone that Espoir is a strong team and we are going to give our best against any team and hopefully this game will raise the moral of the team. Today, it was an “excellent show.” His counterpart Kanamugire said that small mistakes killed his team, “My players lost concentration in the lead up to both goals, the goals we conceded were individual errors. We dominated the game but we didn’t use our chances. We have to work on our attacking line.” On Sunday, table leaders Rayon Sports will host bottom-placed Pepiniere at Kigali Regional Stadium; although it remains to be seen whether the latter will honor the fixture having ‘officially pulled’ out of the national league last week. Rubavu residents will witness the first derby of the season between Etincelles and Marines at Umuganda Stadium, while Gicumbi FC will be using their home ground for the first time this season when they host Mukura Victory Sports at Stade de Gicumbi. editorial@newtimes.co.rw