Four days for Micho to turn things around

In football, goals win games and a lack of them is a recipe for disaster. Four-nil and it could have been more, which makes it the worst possible start to what will be a very difficult qualifying campaign for Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars.Rwanda has never qualified for the final stages of the World Cup while Algeria has made it a total of three times (1982, 1986 and 2010).Algeria were there two years ago when the finals tournament was hosted by South Africa, and following Saturday’s result, it’s not hard to predict which team has more chances of being on the plane to Brazil in 2014.Two headed goals from Arbi Hilel Soudani and a goal each from Sofiene Feghouli and Islam Slimani gave the Desert Foxe a resounding 4-0 win over Amavubi Stars in Blida, the country’s second biggest city.Algeria set the tone and pace of the match in which they were in total control from the first whistle to the last and they could have won by a bigger score line had the Gambian Bakary Papa Gassama referee not turned down a big penalty claim by Rafik Djebbour 10 minutes into the game.Moments later, an unmarked defender Ismael Bouzid directed a diving header over the crossbar as the hosts threatened relentlessly and it wasn’t long before the inevitable happened.More is neededWhereas Algeria appears to be on the rise, it is far from a reality check for Amavubi and their Serbian coach, Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic, whose best result since taking charge last October must be the goalless draw against Nigeria in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying first leg played in Kigali in March.Yet it was clear from recent international friendly matches in Tunisia during the team’s two-week training camp that much more needs to be done if Rwandans can even dare to hope to eliminate the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the return leg.Micho’s team went into Saturday’s clash on the back of three disappointing results that included heavy defeats to two North African oppositions, 2-0 against Libya and a 5-1 drubbing against Tunisia, plus a 1-1 draw against less glamorous Chad. The three matches evidenced huge defensive problems and a lack of effectiveness in front of goal that needed to be addressed prior to Saturday’s match but nothing changed. No strangersRwanda and Algeria are no strangers having met on no fewer than five times with the latter now enjoying 3-2-0 record. Both teams began their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with a goalless draw in Kigali before the North Africa team came off 3-1 worthy winners in the return leg.Algeria went on to qualify as group leaders after beating archrivals Egypt in the fiercely contested playoff clash, while with just two points, Rwanda finished bottom of the group, which also included, Zambia.Algeria’s Vahid Halilhodzic expressed his pleasure after smashing Rwanda for four and taking pole position of Group H. Benin were due to face Mali last evening in the group’s other opening day fixture.“I am very happy for this victory; we didn’t expect more than this, since we are in the opening games,” Halilhodzic was quoted as saying in the post-game press conference.“We learnt what the weak points are of the Rwanda squad, so we edged to finish the game with this big result,” he added. “We were close to scoring another three to four goals, but bad luck shadowed us,” he stated.Amavubi, who return to the country tomorrow, have just four days to make improvements before the next qualifier against Benin on Sunday in Kigali. Algeria take on Mali on a neutral ground on the same day.Olivier Karekezi, Meddie Kagere, Dady Birori and Labama Bokota need to stand up and be counted on Sunday against Benin, a team that won 3-0 on their last visit to Kigali not so long ago.

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Four days for Micho to turn things around