Masudi under pressure as Rayon lose top spot

Sunday Mukura VS 1-1 MusanzeSC Kiyovu 0-1 MarinesGicumbi 1-1 Kirehe FCAmagaju 1-1 Pepiniere SaturdayAPR FC 1-0 Rayon SportsEspoir 1-1 Sunrise FcBugesera 2-0 Etincelles FridayPolice FC 3-0 AS Kigali Rayon Sports coach Djuma Masudi has admitted for the first time that he is under a “little bit of pressure” after his team’s unbeaten run in the league was put on a halt after losing to APR FC 1-0 on Saturday at a fully packed Amahoro National Stadium. Striker Issa Bigirimana was the hero of the game as he scored with a glancing header in the 23rd minute, which saw the defending champions leapfrog their archrivals at the top of table. Both teams have 33 points but the former are on top courtesy of the newly introduced head to head rule, rather than goal difference. “It is always bad to lose to your main rival; we came into the game late and we failed to handle the pressure. We were not our usual self on pitch in this game, but we have to move on and prepare for the next match,” Masudi told Times Sport. The former Rayon Sports, APR and Burundi international striker added that, “If you coach a team like Rayon Sports you will always be under pressure because it is a big team with a large fan base that always want to win, mainly against their biggest rivals but we will keep fighting until the end.” Rayon Sports have a mountain to climb over the weekend when they host their old enemies SC Kiyovu, who lost to Marines 1-0 on Sunday at Kigali Regional Stadium, while APR FC will face fifth-placed Bugesera where they will come up against familiar faces including their former coach Vincent Mashami. Looking ahead to the next fixture against Kiyovu, Masudi noted that, “We shall go to the training ground to work on a few things before we get back to business. It is frustrating to lose but we have to regain our confidence before facing Kiyovu, which to me, is a must win.” Saturday’s win, saw APR end Rayon Sport’s unbeaten run held since October last year. On Sunday, Mukura Victory Sports played out a 1-1 draw against Musanze at Huye Stadium. Hamidou Simpenzwe netted for Godfroid Okoko’s team in the 55th minute before Peter Otema equalised in the 90th minute. At Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo, Aloys Kanamugire was left frustrated as his inconsistent Kiyovu lost 1-0 to Marines—the lone goal scored by former Police FC and AS Kigali forward Jimmy Mbaraga in the 13th minute. The win lifted the Rubavu-based club to 13th place in the table with 14 points; six off the relegation zone whereas Kiyovu remained 8th with 18 points after 14 rounds of matches. Elsewhere, Gicumbi FC drew 1-1 with Kirehe FC at Stade de Gicumbi—Suleiman Mudeyi scored for the host in the 10th minute while Tresor Muhoza netted for the visitors in the 34th minute. The bottom two sides; Amagaju and Pepiniere shared points in Nyamagabe. Yves Niyomwungeri scored for Jean Baptiste Kayiranga’s Pepiniere, now with two points, in the 40th minute before Hussein Shaban equalised in the 90th minute. Espoir dropped to sixth position after coming from behind to draw 1-1 against Sunrise FC. Bugesera edged Etincelles 2-0 in Nyamata courtesy of a brace from Bertrand Iradukunda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw