APR FC head coach Adil Muhammed Erradi has blamed Saturdays defeat against Kiyovu in the Rwanda premier league over a hectic match schedule which his team found too tough to handle. The military side was three points clear at the top prior to the clash and Kiyovu knew only victory over APR would keep their hopes for the league title alive. Goals from Abedi Bigirimana and Emmanuel Okwi were enough to help Kiyovu take all three points despite Ombolenga Fitina’s consolation goal. The defeat was the fifth match that APR played in 15 days, a fixture run which Erradi says was too congested for his team to cope with and maintain their form. “It’s not their (my players’) fault, the problem lies in the fixture schedule. I have never seen a team play big matches every two days,” claimed Erradi in a post-match interview with the press. The club played Etoile in the league at Kigali stadium on May 1 before hosting Marine at the same venue during the second leg of the Peace Cup quarter finals. They then traveled to Rusizi to face Espoir on May 7 and returned to Kigali where they only had less than 48 hours to prepare for Peace Cup semi-final derby against Rayon with Kiyovu waiting in their wings on Saturday which the Green Baggies went on to win to keep their title hopes alive. Erradi’s side managed to win just two of the five games they played (Etoile and Espoir), lost two (against Marine and Kiyovu) and drew one against Rayon Sports. He said his team struggled to cope with Kiyovu and went on to lose the game since his players have played so many games in a short period. “I am sorry to say this, but we are humans, we are not robots. Scientifically speaking, I’ve never seen this [kind of tight schedule] in any club I coached. I am telling you the truth, in my football knowledge, I’ve been in this career for a long time, but such a schedule is scientifically impossible,” he said. He said the football governing body (Ferwafa) should be protecting players with fixtures that meet their fitness conditions. “I am not in that position, but there is a need to revise the calendar to help teams maintain energy to play for the remainder of the season,” he said. Kiyovu and APR are tied at 60 points, but the latter remain top of the table with a one goal difference. Despite defeat last weekend, Erradi remains positive that his players can fight for the title until the last minute. “We lost the match, but we haven’t lost the league title yet. The battle continues, my team is mentally strong, and we are going to work hard to avoid more slip ups,” he said.
