It was an entertaining weekend of football action defined by APR FC who finally clinched 2023/24 Primus National League on week 27 APR with three games to spare. In all, 15 goals were scored across eight various league centres with Rayon Sports and Etoile de l'Est being the only teams to win away from home. Times Sport brings you five things we learned from match day 27. APR are champions, but not convincing yet APR defeated Kiyovu Sports 1-0 in match day 27 to officially win the 2023/24 Primus National League title but they didn't have it easy in the encounter. The Green Baggies were a far better side in the first half and created as many as four clear goal scoring chances which were all squandered by Alfred Leku and Djuma Nizeyimana. If they had been clinical, it could have been a different story. APR might go unbeaten but there is certainly a lot to be done to up their performance. Mugisha runs the show again... The petit winger netted a fabulous goal to give his side the needed three points against Kiyovu on Saturday. The Rwanda international was not Thierry Froger's favorite in the first round of the league despite delivering any time he comes on as a substitute. But things have changed after the March international break when the Frenchman opted to hand him a regular starting role during the remainder of the season. Mugisha is arguably the best winger in the league and he showed it against Kiyovu with one of the best goals scored in the weekend. Sunrise close to relegation Sunrise have been flying high when Jackson Mayanja arrived in December going eight games unbeaten. The club had started to believe in new era under the Ugandan gaffer but they, unfortunately, have gone dip in form since February and Friday’s 3-0 loss to Gasogi United put them on the brink of relegation. Having lost their last five games and now finding themselves at the bottom of the table, the team is really in real danger, hard to avoid in the final three fixtures. They aren’t safe unless they win them all and pray Etoile and Bugesera drop points. They will, however, have to do it without Mayanjya who, the club confirmed, returned home in Uganda to take care of the problem in his family. Relegation battle intensifies As it stands now the battle for survival is between Sunrise FC, Etoile de l'Est and Bugesera. Sunrise have 23 points while Etoile and Bugesera have 25 each. The final three games for the clubs will be very decisive and any slip on the part of any of them can be disastrous. Sunrise will face Gorilla FC, Amagaju FC and Marine while Etoile also see Marines, Police FC and rivals Bugesera FC standing in their way. Bugesera will, besides Etoile, come up against Police FC and Muhazi United. It’s no longer about who has easier or more difficult fixtures. It’s rather about who will be safe from relegation at the end of the league campaign. ALSO READ: Photos: APR are 2023/24 Primus National League champions The unflinching support of the APR fans It was a nice spectacle at Kigali Pele Stadium as the APR fans turned up massively to watch their club winning their record fifth straight league title. At some point in the middle of the season, the fans hardly turned up for games of the army club and if they did, coach Thierry Froger was subjected to booing because of the team's uninspiring performance. As the team got back on track and began to churn out good results, the fans were back in their usual big numbers. The scenes at Kigali Pele Stadium on April 20 were marvelous to watch and the players missed the atmosphere for quite some time. No wonder they appreciated the fans as they went into the stands to celebrate the title glory with them.
