Karekezi hails players as Rayon bag 3 trophies

SaturdayRayon Sports 2-0 APR FC AFTER bagging three trophies in a span of just eleven days, Rayon Sports head coach Olivier Karekezi has paid glowing tribute to his players. The former Amavubi captain was appointed less than two months ago, and he has gone on to lead the reigning Azam Rwanda Premier League champions to three pre-season trophies, including Agaciro Development Fund Cup and Super Cup as well as FEZA Bet Cup. They defeated archrivals APR FC to two of the trophies (Agaciro and Super Cup) while last week Rayon also beat Etincelles 2-0 to win the inaugural FEZA Bet Cup. “It was a nice display from my team, credit goes to the players. They showed desire to win every match, we have played throughout the pre-season,” Karekezi said in the aftermath of Wednesday’s delayed Super Cup. The Ex-APR forward noted that, “For me, the good thing is that we’re not only winning but doing it while playing good football, the players are adapting well to the way I want us to play. It was a game of high pressure and expectations but my players responded well. I am happy to be winning matches.” Both Rayon Sports and APR had to meet in a 27-minute action on Wednesday to complete the 90-minute Super Cup game, which was aborted on Saturday night following power failure at Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu. By the time referee Abdul Twagirumukiza called off the game, Rayon Sports were leading 2-0 through goals from Malian striker Ismailla Diarra and Burundian international midfielder Pierrot Kwizera in the 34thand 62nd minutes, respectively. And according to FIFA rules, which were applied in this situation, the game had to recommence from where it had stopped when both teams met on Wednesday at Kigali Stadium. APR came close to finding the net twice through Issa Bigirimana and Innocent Nshuti, but experienced Rayon Sports goalie Eric ‘Bakame’ Ndayishimiye kept his former team at bay. Rayon Sports comfortably dominated play for the final 27 minutes plus the five (minutes) of stoppage time, until the final whistle. Professional approach After the match, under-fire APR head coach Jimmy Mulisa said: “It was hard to score 2 goals in 27 minutes, but I credit my players for the professional manner in which they approached the match; they knew it was hard to win but they still gave their best and tried to get a goal back.” Mulisa added that his team will take positives from the two losses (against Rayon Sports) as they prepare for the start of the league season. “We wanted to win the game, but there can only be one winner and in this case, it has been Rayon Sports, but we can look forward to improve and do much better in the new season,” explained the former Amavubi forward. On top of the Super Cup trophy, Rayon Sports also bagged Rwf5 million as cash prize. Rayon Sports will compete in next year’s CAF Champions League while APR will take part in the CAF Confederation Cup. editorial@newtimes.co.rw