Rayon Sports take on perennial arch-rivals APR FC in the National Football League this afternoon at Amahoro Stadium with both sets of fans believing their team will take the day. Prior to today, the two teams have met 41 times in the league since 1995 with APR edging their sworn enemies by 16 wins to 13 and the other 13 games ending in draws. The army side have scored 61 goals compared to 56 for the Blues “We are ready to support our team, we will be at the stadium two hours before kickoff and I am confident we shall beat them 2-0,” Solange Tumushime an APR supporter from Rubavu said yesterday. She added, “We want to make history by beating Rayon Sports twice in the league, APR is the best team in Rwanda and we (fans) are always behind the players regardless of who we face, but Sunday’s match is very different from the rest; so we must be there in big numbers to support our team because Rayon have so many fans.” Napoleon Muvala, also an APR supporter says, ‘It is going to be a very good match to watch, but we want the three points, no draw. We know Rayon Sports are confident and will come to avenge for the first round loss but we have a stronger team, we will beat them 2-1.” On the other hand, Rayon Sports supporters led by the most famous of them all—Bosco Ngezahimana aka Rwarutabura, say they can’t wait for kickoff time as their team seeks to ‘revenge’ for the 2-1 loss in the first round last November. “We know them very well; they are a weak team so we want to get all the three points. APR is not strong for us, we know we are the only big club in the country, with the biggest fan base and tomorrow (today), we are going to show them how strong we are,” Rwarutabura noted. As for the president of Rayon Sports fans’ club, Jean Claude Muhawenimana, today’s match is not just about getting three points but also a chance to make good money in gate collection. He said, “We want to take three points and the money because we are the hosts, it is a big match and each team wants to win but for our side, we know we can beat them and we will.” Goals galore The clash between Rayon Sports and APR has always produced all sorts of entertainment and talking points on and off the field. The last time they shared a goalless draw in the league was on 11 June, 2006. During the 2003-2004 season, APR won 3-1 in the first round and 1-0 in the second while the season before Rayon Sports won 1-0 in first round and 4-1 in the corresponding fixture; however, since then, it has never happened again that one team makes a double over the other. APR players and supporters will never forget the 4-1 humiliation of Rayon Sports on August 18 2001, when their team went on to win the league with 61 points one ahead of their rivals. Former Amavubi striker Jimmy Gatete, who played for both sides, holds the record for scoring the most goals in the meetings between the two teams—he has four goals for each club. Jerome Sina has scored the most goals for Rayon Sports against APR with six, while Djuma Masudi scored five goals for APR against Rayon. No player has scored a hat-trick in this fixture; but Sina, Gentil Salita Kambale (Papy Kamanzi) and Labama Bokota for Rayon Sports as well as St Preux Lionnel, Farouk Ruhinda, Ndjoli Bokungu, for APR, all have scored two goals in one game. Ex-Rayon Sports coach Raoul Shungu has a record of; played 16, won 7, lost 4 and drawn 5 while Vincent Mashami, who joined APR two seasons ago, has lost just once to Rayon Sports. Familiar faces Rayon Sports’ goalkeeper Eric ‘Bakame’ Ndayishimiye, midfielder Fuadi Ndayisenga and striker Isaac Muganza, who played for APR before, will come up against right-back Albert Ngabo and winger Djamar Mwiseneza, who crossed from Rayon. Other players who played for both sides include; Gatete, Bokota, Haruna Niyonzima, Janot Witakenge, Masoudi Djuma, Bonaventure ‘Gangi’ Hategekimana, Tumayine Ntamuhanga and Karim ‘Mckenzie’ Nizigiyimana.
