Rayon Sports ended their four-year winless streak over APR with a hard fought 1-0 victory in the Rwandan Premier League week 19 top fixture on Sunday, February 12. The game had it all, great atmosphere, tactical game plan, good individual performance and others. ALSO READ: Ngendahimana the hero as Rayon end APR’s four-year dominance Times Sport takes a look at five things we learnt from the Rwandan derby. Rayon silence APR APR had been Rayon's bogey side in the last four years, an embarrassing record that the Blues wanted to end on Sunday and finally record a win over a side that last beat on April 20, 2019. Rayon, whose form had been patchy since the end of the first round, stepped up with a breathtaking output as they defeated their eternal rivals by a lone goal to nothing through Eric Ngendahimana to not only close the gap at the summit within one point and hence restore their title winning hopes back on track. Luvumbu can be Rayon's wild card In the tense derby, the Congolese midfielder was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch until he was substituted in the 76th minute. He was able to take the APR players on and each time he had the ball, he looked very dangerous. It was his superb free kick that Eric Ngendahimana converted to break the deadlock after 33 minutes. ALSO READ: Rwatubyaye revels in 'best' win against APR Rwatubyaye returned when Rayon needed him most Rwatubyaye, has been out of action through a lengthy injury since October, and had been working hard to be fit to return at the heart of Rayon’s backline in time for the derby. The Rayon Sports skipper’s leadership brought stability to the team on his return after his injury lay off. He organized the back four very well and made very decent tackles to stop the ferocious APR attackers. His presence in Sunday’s derby against APR was a major boost in Rayon’s defense which has been shaky over the past few months. Omborenga’s struggles cost APR One of the best right-backs in the Premier League, Omborenga had an afternoon to forget as he struggled to cope with Leandre Onana’s pace and artistry. He was completely outplayed and outmuscled by Onana who operated on the left side of attack. The Cameroonian left Omborenga for dead on three occasions and in one of them, Bosco Ruboneka had to come to that side to hack the forward down. But still, Onana was fouled in Omborenga’s area only for referee Nsoro Ruzindana to award a free kick that resulted in the only goal of the game. APR should shift to three-man attack APR coach Ben Moussa started the game with Yannick Bizimana as his arrowhead with Lague Byiringiro as the number 10. It did work to some extent as Byiringiro was very strong on the ball and was able to create two decent chances for Bizimana. While Byiringiro has been more productive while attacking from the wings, Moussa should have introduced Yves Mugunga to form an attacking trio that could have posed a major threat to the Rayon backline with interposition play.
