Result

Rwanda 2-0 Tanzania

Rwanda finally ended their goalless run to score twice against Tanzania yesterday at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali in their second game of the inaugural Genocide Commemoration Cup.

The tournament attracted four countries, namely Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and hosts Rwanda, and the win will have come as a huge relief for Irish coach Johnny McKinstry having come just a week ahead of a crucial away 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Mozambique.

Left wingback Patrick Sibomana converted from the spot after Tanzania’s Joram Mgeveke handled the ball in the penalty box following a long pass from the right flank by Amavubi forward Bertrand Iradukunda.

Sibomana sent Taifa Stars’ goalkeeper Said Mohamed the wrong way to fire a low shot into the right corner at the half time mark to give the home side a deserved lead having dominated play in the opening 45 minutes.

In stoppage time, midfielder Yannick Mukunzi found the back of the net with a superb header off an Eric Rutanga cross on the left flank after a short corner kick by Dominique Savio Nshuti to give the Amavubi a 2-0 win, McKinstry’s first victory with the senior side since taking over in March.

"I am very pleased with the win. It is important that the players get into a winning mentality. 2-0 against Tanzania and the 0-0 against Kenya (on Saturday) means this is a good weekend in terms of preparation for Mozambique,” explained McKinstry.

Rwanda take on Mozambique on the weekend of June 13-14 in Maputo in the 2017 AFCON opening qualifier and the Irishman has urged the Amavubi to build on the weekend’s performance to register a positive result.

Amavubi are in Group H alongside giants Ghana and Mauritius.

McKinstry said: "This [weekend’s performance] is getting the players into the right mentality. We treat friendly games, and World Cup and AFCON qualifying games all the same. It is about going out and doing our job well.”

"For the players what was most pleasing for me was not only not conceding any goals over the two games, but also allowing just six to seven shots (on their goal) in 180 minutes of football. That shows that our organisation is good, which means that if we can score one goal against Mozambique, we will be in a very strong position to get a good result.”

The Irish tactician said he was able to experiment and identify the available options in several positions following his decision to field two different teams on the weekend. 

McKinstry, who fielded two different Amavubi teams against Kenya and Tanzania on Saturday and Sunday respectively said, "The recent U-23 qualifiers and this weekend’s games have allowed us to breed some new talent. Against Tanzania, the young boy Dominique Savio actually started at left back rather than left wing but today he showed that he is versatile and he is a 17-year old who, if we didn’t have the U-23s games ahead of this tournament, wouldn’t have gotten that chance.”

In the other game earlier yesterday, Kenya beat South Sudan 2-0, while Tanzania play South Sudan today.

However, there will be no overall winner of the tournament, with Tanzania and South Sudan having arrived late for the regional games, thereby tampering with the initial schedule.

This is the inaugural inter-country national football championships organized in honour of the football administrators, players and fans killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that left over a million people dead.

Meanwhile, the foreign-based duo of Abouba Sibomana, who features for Kenyan giants Gor Mahia, and ASF Anderieux forward Elias Uzamukunda will join the rest of the squad today, and according to McKinstry, the players will take the day off to recuperate before resuming training tomorrow.

Amavubi depart for Maputo on Thursday evening.