Rayon Sports coach remains positive despite defeat in Mali

Saturday: First leg Onze Créateurs 1-0 Rayon Sports Mar.19: Second leg Rayon Sports vs Onze Créateurs Rayon Sports will have no choice but to get a big win against Mali’s Onze Créateurs when the two teams meet in CAF Confederation Cup first round, second leg this coming weekend, according to head coach Djuma Masudi. Rayon lost 1-0 in the first leg on Saturday in Bamako. The lone goal was netted by striker Boubakar Bamasekou in the 61st following a miscommunication between Rayon Sports defenders. “We have a good side but we have to show our capability in second leg at home in-front of fans. Yes we lost in the first leg, but we still have 90 minutes to play. As we expected, Onze Créateurs are a very strong team, but I am confident we will perform better in the home game,” Masudi explained. He added, “We are here for a reason and it’s up to us to continue disproving our critics. We know we are capable of eliminating Onze Créateurs. Losing 1-0 here is not a bad result but it means that we have to score more than one goal in the second leg in order to advance to the next stage.” Rayon Sports had chances to get an away goal through Malians forwards Moussa Camara and Tidiane Kone as well as Burundian midfielder Pierrot Kwizera, but they all failed to hit the target. “It was a very tough game and Onze Créateurs scored their goal from our mistake, but we are going to work on scoring and defending ahead of the next match,” Masudi explained. The 16 triumphant teams from this first round two-legged fixture will face the 16 losers from the Champions League first round. The 16 eventual winners of the play-off round will advance to the lucrative group stage. Rayon Sports, who are top of the national league table, reached the first round of Africa’s second biggest club competition after eliminating South Sudan’s Al Wau Salaam in the preliminary round, 6-0 on goal aggregate. editorial@newtimes.co.rw