"Today, we have got a few things off our back; first Rwanda has got their first win at CHAN finals and secondly, Rwanda has got a first win over Côte d'Ivoire, so these are two things that we have to be happy about,” said Amavubi coach Johnny McKinstry.

CHAN 2016 tournament hosts Rwanda made a dream start to their campaign with a stunning 1-0 victory over the reigning AFCON champions 1-0 in the opening match on Saturday at Amahoro National Stadium to set themselves nicely for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Northern Irishman also admitted that, "It was a tough game, we played so well in the first half but the second half was a bit different because Côte d'Ivoire grew into the game, and the last ten minutes were very difficult as my players started to get tired.”

"We had a chance to go 2-0 up but Emery had his penalty saved by Côte d'Ivoire goalkeeper—it was a fabulous save, you can’t really blame Emery because he had taken it nicely but the keeper made a big save,” he noted in defence of his assistant captain, who was also named man of the match as his first half free kick goal made the difference between the two teams.

Rwanda need one more win or even just two more points to be assured of a place in the last eight, something that McKinstry has set his eyes on.

He said, "To qualify for the quarter-finals, you need at least five points, so these are three (points) for us and now two more to go. With five points, there is no way you cannot qualify to the knockout round.” 

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