APR FC captain Yunusu Nshimiyimana has dismissed suggestions that Les Aigles du Congo hold the upper hand in their CAF Champions League preliminary-round tie, insisting the Congolese side is “not strong” enough to eliminate the Rwandan champions. APR suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Lubumbashi, leaving them needing to overturn the deficit in the return leg in Kigali on Saturday, September 12. However, Nshimiyimana believes the result was largely a consequence of APR’s failure to convert their chances rather than the hosts’ superiority. The army side produced a strong performance away from home and created several scoring opportunities but lacked the clinical finishing needed to find the net. They also played briefly with 10 men after Ronald Ssekiganda was sent off. APR must now win by at least two goals in Kigali to secure automatic qualification for the next round. Despite the challenge, Nshimiyimana remains confident the team can turn the tie around in front of their home supporters. “Eliminating them is very possible. The team we faced is not strong,” he said. The experienced defender believes APR’s priority should be improving their finishing rather than making major tactical changes. “There is only one thing we need to correct, converting the chances we create into goals. That is the only adjustment needed because we had many opportunities but failed to score from them.” His assessment reflects APR’s confidence despite the setback, with the players convinced they matched their opponents and, at times, were the better side in Lubumbashi. Nshimiyimana also expressed frustration with some of the refereeing decisions in the first leg, claiming several incidents went against APR and affected the team’s momentum. “We gave everything on the pitch and tried our best, but as you could see, the referee was not on our side. He overlooked some fouls, and that was demoralizing for us.” Nevertheless, the defender insisted the team has already shifted its focus to the return leg, where home advantage could prove decisive. “Now we are going to focus on how we can beat them by more than two goals in Kigali.” The winner of the tie will face either Zamalek or AS Port in the second preliminary round.
