AS Kigali failed to make it to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup for the second time in a row when they lost 1-0, on aggregate, to Libyan outfit Al Nasr on Sunday, October 16. During the 2021/2022 season, AS Kigali reached the same second preliminary round but were defeated, home and away, by Congolese side Daring Club Motema Pembe. Despite once again being knocked out in the last hurdle to the group stage, the performance of AS Kigali was better compared to the 2021/22 edition. Times Sport takes a look at four things we learnt from the club's Africa campaign. Improvement in AS Kigali's away performance To hold a north African team for 69 minutes in a CAF Club competition away game is no fluke and AS Kigali did it in Libya. AS Kigali coach Andre Casa Mbungo has been able to instill self belief in his team and they can now go all out even in away matches. The players now have strong mental fortitude and they can build on that in their future CAF competition appearances. Defensive problems The defensive problems of AS Kigali existed since the 2021/2022 season and they have not yet been solved. Dreadful defending in Benghazi allowed Al Nasr to score the only goal of the game though AS Kigali had put up a great performance. The January transfer window is around the corner and it is evidently clear that AS Kigali need massive reinforcement at the back. Attackers let the team down AS Kigali's attack led by Shaban Hussein was very wasteful throughout their CAF Confederation Cup campaign. Dozens of glaring chances were squandered by the AS Kigali attackers in all the four games they played. If the AS Kigali strikers had been more purposeful and clinical upfront in Huye, they could have killed the game in the first leg. Midfield is their strength Rashid Kalisa, Lawrence Juma and Olivier Niyonzima in the middle of the pitch were in a class of their own. They stabilized the midfield department and, in all the four games AS Kigali played in the competition, the trio excelled. It is evident that they will improve more on their game as time goes on.
