Masudi urges Rayon players to ‘think big’

Sunday Marines FC vs Police FC 3:30pmPepiniere vs Gicumbi FC Friday Rayon Sports 3-0 SC Kiyovu Despite ending their league first round with a resounding 3-0 win over ten-man SC Kiyovu on Friday at Kigali Regional Stadium, Rayon Sports head coach Djuma Masudi has urged his players to think big ahead of the second round. “We have done well in the first half of the season but we need to think big in the second round. We will need to win more games because our priority is to win league title,” said Masudi after his team reclaimed top spot from archrivals APR FC, who were due to face Bugesera on Saturday. Goals from Malian striker Moussa Camara in the 16th minute, Djabel Manishimwe in the 75th minute and Fabrice Mugheni ten minutes later, were enough to hand Rayon Sports 3 points. Aloys Kanamugire’s SC Kiyovu was reduced to ten players after defender Mukamba Namasombwa was sent off in the 72nd minute following a second yellow. Masudi admitted that, “It is very tight race but we only need to take care of our own business and don’t focus much on what happens elsewhere. We needed a response from last week’s loss (against APR) and the players gave a perfect response, I couldn’t ask for more.” The score could have been even bigger had man of the match Manishimwe and Camara not hit the crossbar in either half. SC Kiyovu Burundian forward Francis Mustafa had a ball in the back of the net in the 33rd minute but it was disallowed by the referee for offside. Kiyovu head coach Kanamugire said that his players lucked tactical discipline, “We need more concentration in games, my players started well in the first few minutes but lost concentration and failed to play according to our game plan.” The Mumena-based ‘Green Baggies’ wasted several goal scoring chances through Jean Claude Nizeyimana, Djuma Nizeyiman, Mustafa and Blaise Bigirimana and they dropped to 9th spot with 18 points with Musanze going 8th thanks to a superior goal difference. On Sunday, Marines host third-placed Police FC at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu while the bottom two sides Pepiniere and Gicumbi FC face-off at Ruyenzi ground. editorial@newtimes.co.rw