Nshimiyimana still optimistic despite loss

Rwanda national team coach Eric Nshimiyimana was left disappointed by his team’s lack of scoring prowess in the defeat against Uganda Cranes in the ongoing Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup played at Nyayo stadium in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Rwanda national team coach Eric Nshimiyimana was left disappointed by his team’s lack of scoring prowess in the defeat against Uganda Cranes in the ongoing Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup played at Nyayo stadium in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday.

Amavubi strikers were guilty of missing some good scoring chances, which could have killed off the game early before Dan Serunkuma netted a well-taken winner in the 89th minute to seal a hard fought win for the record 13-times Challenge Cup winners.

"I’m disappointed with the manner in which we lost the game, but we have to continue to work hard and aim to win our next matches because we need to get out of the group,” he told Sunday Sport by phone from Nairobi.

Rwanda’s next match is on Monday against group C leaders Sudan, who kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 win over Eritrea on Friday.

Nshimiyimana added, "Despite the loss, I am happy with the overall performance of the team, the players gave everything and everyone was very disappointed with the result.”

"Today (Friday) was a good game for us, we played well, created chances but failed to score but we will be looking for goals in next two games,” he noted.

The win was a sweet revenge for Uganda Cranes head coach Milutin Micho Sredojevic ,who was in charge of Amavubi for a year and half before he was sacked in May this year after a series of poor results.

Rwanda, who are seeking a second Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup title, know they must win Monday’s game against Sudan to put themselves in a good position to qualify as either group winner or first runners-up.