It must been a surprise to many but the win away to Ethiopia on Sunday was what Blanko Tucak and his men wanted for confidence building ahead of the tie against Morocco on Sunday. What a way to respond to critics as Tucak has put together two back-to-back wins after a faltering start to his reign as Amavubi Stars head coach in April, replacing compatriot Josip Kuze. When Rwanda lost 4-0 against Sudan in Khartoum in the first qualifying round of the inaugural Africa Championship Cup coupled with the coach’s new system, everyone started calling for his (Tucak) head. But he has managed to respond in the best way possible with a draw and two consecutive wins, something that sets up a great platform ahead of the next 2010 World Cup/Africa cup of Nations qualifier against Morocco this weekend in Kigali. In those two wins, the team’s performance hasn’t been the best we seen the national team do, nonetheless the players have done exactly what is most important in a game of football, which is winning. Morocco, another different story Some players have contributed more to the wins than others and also, the players are starting to adapt to the coach’s new system of play—3-4-3 as opposed to the more conventional 4-4-2 they were used to under previous coaches. Before the Ethiopia game, a draw would have been a good result in Addis but to come away with all three points will surely put the players in a better frame of mind to face Morocco, believing that anything is possible. Against Sudan, Mauritania and Ethiopia, Tucak’s team made poor starts with so much respect for the opponents but gained their confidence as the games grew older. The first 45 minutes in Addis, Amavubi looked hopeless, loosing possession to the adversary easily; Katauti once again looked suspect with his marking—Ethiopia’s goal at the stroke of halftime was inevitable. The players ought to learn to take the game to their opponents from the word go or else they may find if harder to come back into it (game) after going done against a Morocco team that is far better than Ethiopia and Mauritania put together. It was only after the break that Rwandan players started to believe in their ability to hold their own even though the bad pitch didn’t help their cause. Haruna Niyonzima, starting his second game under Tucak, pulled the strings for Amavubi on right wing, something the team has missed without him on the team. Patrick Mafisango was a dominant figure as he has been when on the field, protecting the backline well and surging forward whenever an opportunity arose in support of the frontline. Olivier Karekezi, despite scoring the winner, his second of the campaign after his opener against Mauritania, did not play as well as he can—if only he can step up his game against Morocco, another positive result is possible. When Karekezi, Mafisango and Haruna are performing to their full potential, Morocco shouldn’t be too much a problem, especially when confidence is as high as it is at the moment after two consecutive wins, a feat Rwanda hadn’t managed since CAN 2004 qualifying campaign when Amavubi beat Uganda and Ghana to qualify. That curling free-kick by Mafisango after Karekezi was fouled, which resulted in Saidi Abedi’s equalizer, for his second goal in as many games, was yet another indication of how important the Atraco man is to the national team. And as captain, Karekezi also proved his match-winning prowess even in hard situations as he smashed home the winner on the stroke of full time, when a draw looked the most likely outcome. However, it’s going to be a totally different story when the North Africans, who like Rwanda, have won their opening two qualifiers 3-0 at home to Ethiopia and 1-4 away to Mauritania are the visitors on Saturday. Discipline is paramount Also, Tucak must do something about his players discipline because a sequence of stupid bookings could affect his plans when the return legs start in two weeks time. Why did Ismail Nshutinamagara, who had come for the injured Boubakary Sadou, throw away the ball yet he had just given away an unnecessary free-kick or doesn’t Haruna know that you can never interfere when the opponent is taking a dead ball? These should be some of the things the coach must teach his players since football is not only about kicking and chasing that round leather thing but it involves to much discipline, nonetheless, for the game itself, the performance wasn’t the best but a win is a win, after all it’s football. Ends
