APR FC secured their first victory of the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup after beating Djibouti side Garde Républicaine FC 3-1 in a Group A match on Monday, keeping their hopes of reaching the semifinals alive. The Rwandan champions produced a dominant first-half display, with striker Djibril Ouattara scoring a brace in a win that brought his side back in contention of a ticket to the tournament semifinals. The loss also saw Garde Républicaine eliminated from the competition. After minutes of dominance, Ouattara broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute, finishing off a well-worked move to give the home side the lead. The Burkinabe forward struck again seven minutes later after receiving a precise pass from William Togui Mel, calmly beating the goalkeeper in the 40th minute. APR continued to pile pressure on the Djiboutian side and added a third goal just before halftime when Mamadou Traoré found the back of the net in the 45th minute. The three-goal advantage reflected APR's superiority in the opening half as they dominated possession and created several scoring opportunities. Coming into the match on the back of a heavy 5-0 defeat to Kenyan side Gor Mahia, APR needed an immediate response and delivered one of their best first-half performances of the tournament. However, the army side failed to maintain the same attacking intensity after the break. Despite needing a bigger winning margin to boost their goal difference, APR struggled to create clear chances in the second half and appeared content to protect their lead. Garde Républicaine grew into the game and were rewarded late on when Maarouf Abass Abaneh scored in the 88th minute, denying APR a clean sheet and reducing the final score to 3-1. The victory earned APR their first three points of the tournament and kept them in contention for a place in the last four. However, qualification remains a difficult task heading into the final round of group-stage matches. The Rwandan champions will have to beat an unbeaten Vipers side by a significantly bigger goal margin while also hoping Gor Mahia fail to beat Garde Republicaine.
