I’ll save Gicumbi FC from relegation, says coach Okoko

Saturday AS Kigali 4-1 MukuraBugesera 1-1 Sunrise FCMarines 1-2 Gicumbi Kirehe FC 0-1 Police FC After beating Marines 2-1 on Saturday at Umuganda Stadium, Gicumbi FC head coach Godfroid Okoko said the win is a big boost as they struggle to stay in the topflight division next season. The fourth win took second from bottom Gicumbi to 18 points, one behind Marines with eight rounds of matches remaining. Ugandan striker Rashid Mutebi gave the visitors the lead on the stroke of half time to take his tally to 7 goals and Hamad Hakorimana netted the second goal in the 58th minute before Prince Nkusi pulled one back for the hosts in the 88th minute. “We will fight until the end, I cannot promise that we will win all our remaining games, but what we want to do is to be competitive in every game. This is an important win for us and hopefully we can build on it in the next fixtures because we want to play in this division next season,” said Okoko. The former Mukura coach added, “We still have a lot of work to do but at least we have got an important win today. My plan is to save Gicumbi FC from relegation, it is the reason I came here.” His opposite number Abdul Kalim ‘Coka’ Nduhirabandi admitted, “We have put ourselves in a risky position where we can easily be dragged into the bottom two zone, so we must stand up if we’re to save our season. It is a difficult situation because we need to fight more than we have done today.” Elsewhere, AS Kigali compounded Mukura Victory Sports’ misery and sent the Huye-based side closer to the relegation zone after a 4-1 hammering at Stade de Kigali thanks to striker Bernabe Mubumbyi, who became the first player to score four goals in one game this season. The former APR FC forward found the back of the net in the 22nd, 26th, 30th and 90th minute while Hussein Cyiza netted consolation goal for Ivan Minnaert’s team in the 80th minute. Last season, Mukura finished in third place behind APR and Rayon Sports but they have struggled after winning 5, drawing 8 and losing 9 matches this season. They are in 12th place with 23 points, five above Gicumbi. AS Kigali stayed in third place with 43 points, level with Police FC, who jumped to second after winning 1-0 away to Kirehe FC on Saturday. Both sides are two points ahead of defending champions APR FC, who are due to play against Etincelles on Sunday at Umuganda Stadium. League top scorer Dany Usengimana netted the lone goal in Police’s win to take his tally to 14 in 22 matches. In Nyamata, Bugesera played out a 1-all draw against Sunrise FC. Rayon Sports, who lead the table with 52 points, will play their matchday 22 fixture against Amagaju FC on Wednesday at Stade de Kigali. editorial@newtimes.co.rw