APR FC made history on Tuesday, November 23 as they became the first East African side to go forty league games unbeaten following a hard fought 2-1 Victory over rivals Rayon Sports in the Rwanda premier league. The highly competitive game saw APR survive a late scare to record victory in the nerve wrecking encounter at the Kigali stadium in Nyamirambo. The first clear cut chance of the game fell to APR star Bosco Roboneka who shot agonizingly wide after being beautifully played through on the left wing. Rayon Sports took hold of the game with Kelvin Muhire running a one man show in the heart of midfield. Rayon exhibited some good interposition play as their opponents retreated into their own half. A superb ball from midfield found Rharb Youssef who easily outwitted his marker to set up Wily Onana and the Cameroon striker made no mistake by powering home a left footed grounder for the opener in the 15th minute, which sent the Blues fans into a frenzy. The pressure kept on piling on APR as they decided to adopt a counter attacking style. Against the run of play, Djabel Imanishimwe who had been lurking around the Rayon penalty box fired home the equalizer in the 38th minute after poor communication among the Rayon Sports defenders. The goal seems to have ignited the fire power of APR as they netted the second goal through a stupendous 20 yard drive from Bosco Ruboneka after Rayon Sports failed to clear their lines again in the 44th minute. Despite going down in the first quarter of the hour, APR recovered to finish the first half as the better side with a 2-1 lead. The second half of the game started with immense power as both sides threatened the vital area of the other for a goal. Rayon Sports enjoyed the lions share of possession from the early stages of the second half but they could not make it count as their attacking line exhibited a high level of profligacy. Youssef Rharb who had been a threat all afternoon had a glorious chance to bring his side to level pegging after being released perfectly by Onana but his feeble shot was easily saved by the APR goalkeeper in the 65th minute. It was an end to end affair on the pitch as each side tried to exploit the others’ weakness. Rayon continued to bombard the penalty area of APR as Rharb and Onana switched between the wings and attack but all their efforts were curtailed by APR defenders. APR recoiled into their shells in the final minutes of the game leaving Lague Byiringiro as the only man upfront as they defended gallantly to maintain their 40-game unbeaten run and also record their third win in four games.
