Etincelles is a must win, says APR coach Petrovic

Sunday Etincelles Vs APR FC Monday Sunrise FC Vs Rayon Sports March 28 Gicumbi FC Vs APR FC After dropping two points against lowly Espoir, APR FC Head Coach Ljubomir Petrovic has admitted that the next league match against Etincelles on Sunday, is a must-win for the army side. APR will face Etincelles in the rescheduled Azam Rwanda Premier League matchday 14 fixture at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu, knowing that anything less than maximum points, would be a blow in their title race. Victory for the record 16-times league winners will see them leapfrog Sunrise FC in fourth place—both teams will be level on 25 points but APR won the game between both sides early in the season. Looking ahead to the Etincelles clash, Petrovic noted that, We are working very hard on the training ground, especially on our attacking because that is the area we seem to have problems.” “It was frustrating to drop two points (against Espoir) but we have to regain our confidence before facing Etincelles, which to me, is a must win, the 70-year old tactician added. APR FC, chasing a record-extending league title, saw their hopes of reducing the gap on the top four suffer following a 1-1 draw against struggling Espoir FC in a rescheduled matchday 13 fixture on Wednesday at Kigali Stadium in Nyamirambo. Petrovic noted that, “We created many scoring chances but we were not able to take them, but we have to move on and prepare for the next two matches. Striker John Ssemazi put Espoir ahead in the 32nd minute, while midfielder Andrew Buteera headed in the equaliser for the hosts in the 83rd minute. The draw enabled the army side to jump two places in the table standing from seventh to fifth with 22 points and two games in hand. AS Kigali lead the league table standing with 29 points, one point ahead of SC Kiyovu in second spot, while defending champions Rayon Sports are third with 27 points. Nyagatare-based Sunrise FC, who host Rayon Sports on Monday, are forth with 25 points. Espoir FC, who sacked head coach Jimmy Ndizeye and his assistant Francois Kalisa after the APR draw, are in 13th place with 14 points, two above Miroplast, who occupy the last relegation spot, after 15 rounds of matches. Gicumbi are bottom with 11 points but with a game in hand. League table Team PD W D L Pts AS Kigali 15 8 5 2 29 SC Kiyovu 15 8 4 3 28 Rayon Sports 14 8 3 3 27 Sunrise 14 7 4 3 25 APR FC 13 5 7 1 22 Police FC 15 6 4 5 22 Etincelles 14 5 6 3 21 Bugesera 15 5 5 5 20 Mukura 15 3 9 3 18 Musanze 15 4 5 6 17 Marines 15 4 5 6 17 Kirehe FC 15 4 3 8 15 Espoir 15 2 8 5 14 Amagaju 15 3 4 8 13 Miroplast 15 2 6 7 12 Gicumbi 14 3 2 9 11 editorial@newtimes.co.rw