On average, more than half of the people of the Rayon Sports fraternity saw the defeat coming. Sunday’s 2-0 Peace Cup final loss to rivals APR at Amahoro Stadium hit them like a bomb. It was something they never anticipated. ALSO READ: Ouattara and.Mgisha on target as APR end eight-year Peace Cup jinx Football is a very funny sport with unpredictable results. This same Rayon side outplayed APR in two games at the same venue. APR were lucky on both occasions as Rayon could have buried them. Then Rayon coach Robertinho Oliveira showed his tactical superiority over Darko Novic before he was suspended for two months when results started to fade. And, when the Brazilian’s successor Claude Rwaka took over, Rayon struggled against APR, they were totally outplayed as they couldn’t even put two or three decent passes together. Skipper Kevin Muhire, who had run the show in the two previous meetings, was totally at sea as he lost the game. Fair enough, the management and the fans of Rayon Sports as a whole are not happy with the defeat to APR. They believe they can lose to any team but APR. Again, reclaiming top spot from APR in the domestic league a few weeks ago gave the team great hope that they can go all out. Winning the Peace Cup was a great deal for the club which wanted to win the double. The league leaders crumbled at one of the stages which mattered most to achieve that feat. But, before thousands of fans at the packed to capacity Amahoro Stadium, the team failed to glitter. The poor showing has drawn many questions running through the mind of the management and the fans as a whole. Is Rwaka capable of handling a team of Rayon Sports caliber? Did the team flatter to deceive? Are some of the players at the level of playing for Rayon Sports? All these are part of a list of questions that need answers. Coaching Rwaka got a draw in his first game in the Peace Cup semifinals first leg against Mukura at Huye Stadium where, though Mukura dominated the encounter on their own ground, Rayon were able to snatch a draw. He then traveled with the team at Umuganda Stadium to beat Etincelles 2-0 before defeating Mukura 1-0 in the Peace Cup semifinals second leg. The final against APR really exposed Rwaka’s team as Novic exploited the wings and made Ouatarra and Mugisha to have a filled day there. Rwaka couldn't read the game to make a tactical change in formation as he stuck to the 4-2-3-1 which was ineffective. From the game, it shows that the former Rayon Sports Women coach has many things to learn and he can at this time be rated as ‘average.’ The defeat has also brought a bit of impasse in the Rayon Sports boardroom as sections of the top management all want Robertinho back. What is the problem at Rayon ? Rayon Sports problem is not only about coaching though it plays a major role. In the absence of a deep technical brain, players such as Hakim Bugingo, Ally Serumogo, Omar Gning, Youssou Diagne, Souleymane Daffe and Richard Ndayishimiye were badly exposed by APR. Bugingo, who is on any day an average left back, was given the drill of his life by Ouattara, contrary to how superior he looked against APR FC under Robertinho. Moving forwad After losing the Peace Cup title to APR, there is huge pressure in Rayon’s dressing room yet they have their destiny in their own hands in the remaining five games in the league. They have to quickly forget about the defeat and regroup for their impending league game against Rutsiro at Kigali Pele Stadium on Thursday, May 8. A win for them would see them get their top spot back from APR who moved at the summit after beating Marines FC 3-0 at Kigali Pele Stadium. The players must seriously approach every game and it is about that Rwaka varies his tactics if the league truly wants to lead Rayon to their first league title since the 2018/2019 campaign.
