No spark as football league gets underway

The standard of football displayed by most top flight league clubs one the first day of the 2009/10 football league was below par. All big clubs recorded vital victories except for Mukura which was shocked 2-0 by AS Kigali. APR nipped Police 3-2, Atraco beat Marines 2-1 courtesy of Jabir Mutarambirwa and Uganda Cranes influential midfielder Johnson Bagoole, Rayon Sport earned a slim 1-0 victory over Electrogaz thanks to their new signing Peter Kagabo while SC Kiyovu overcame Musanze 2-0. However, it’s only APR and SC Kiyovu who played some good football considering the type of players that constitute their squads, but it’s understandable given that fact that it was only the first game of the season when teams are still finding the right rhythm. The lack of enough pre-season matches to help clubs raise the level of their players’ standard after two months of rest also did little to help the teams’ cause. Meanwhile, coaches who Times Sport managed to talk to reacted differently. APR Dutch coach Erik Paske said, “We missed several key players in the weekend match but I believe the next game will be different when all my players are available.” APR played against police without injured players like Abbas Rassou, Xavier Cedric, Jean Mugiraneza and the twin brothers Mbuyu and Kabange Twite who are yet to return from holiday. Kiyovu’s coach said Jean Marie Ntagwabira said, “I have a good squad but I must make them play collectively as a team, and I also need to increase their training, and hopefully the next matches will be eye-catching.” AS Kigali’s Eric Nshimiyimana said, “Our standard was not so good but I believe that their level will improve with time.” “We are mainly affected by the players’ facilitations which they don’t get on time, something that may have affected their performance but I hope we’ll improve in the next match,” Nshimiyimana added. Rayon Sport’s coach Jean Baptiste Kayiranga, “I know we will be struggling to win these opening league matches because I recruited young players with different experiences compared to other clubs.” “But they {players} are good and I just need to improve their training capacities and give them time to adjust to the atmosphere of playing for a big club. I have no doubt they will improve as the season progresses,” Kayiranga added. Ends

Lifestyle

No spark as football league gets underway