Feller ready to unleash Bokungu on rivals

Today

APR       vs   Rayon Sports
Mukura  vs   Kibuye
AS Kigali vs  Police

Yesterday

Electrogaz 1-2   Atraco
Mukura      0-1   Amagaju

The national football league perennial top two title challengers APR and Rayon Sports meet this afternoon in Muhanga and not Amahoro in what is surely the peak of the league fixtures.

Rene Feller takes his second-placed APR team into the white hot derby two points ahead of Raoul Shungu’s side after three matches.

This fixture pits the two most successful sides in local league history. APR are the most successful, winning nine titles since the league was reformed in 1995.

Rayon on the other hand have won six titles but have not won one since 2004.

The title is, of course, not purely dependent on this particular game but there being no love between the two rivals, that only gives it an extra incline to make it an exciting game.

If ever there were a clash of the titans, this is it. Both sides are unbeaten in three games but the military side have won two and drawn one compared to the Blues one win and two draws and they take into the game a poor record of having not beaten their archrivals in four years.

Ahead of the biggest game of season, Feller said, "We’ve had tough training all week and I hope that our hard work will pay off. It’s a derby but we need to win it.”

Asked if he plans to start his new signing Ndjoli Bokungu in today’s game, he said, "He’s in the group 18 but whether he plays or not I don’t know, we shall have to wait and see.”

"In any case, I am happy that he’s here. He’s a good player, who surely brings something different to the team but we’ll see,” he added.

The Dutchman, 65 could not reveal his probable starting team but he confirmed that his two most influential players, the Twite brothers; Mbuyu and Kabange are fit again and should be in the team. 

Only striker Elias Uzamukunda misses the game through injury. That opens up for former DC Mutema Pembe man, Bokungu to make his debut alongside Labama Bokota in attack.

Records don’t bother Shungu

Yet, as Feller hopes to try and not be the first APR coach to see his team beaten by their rivals in four years, his opposite number Shungu is not bothered by the records, good or bad. 

He said, "All matches are tough including this one (against APR) and we always try to prepare (for every game) as much as possible.”

"None the less, we don’t have special preference for particular games,” he told Times Sport yesterday.

But when asked about the unpopular record among the club faithful of having not won against APR in four years, the Congolese coach said, "I’m not bothered by records, all I want is to win matches whether against APR or any other team. Our target is three points and not revenge or clearing records.”

Like Feller, Shungu has a fully fit squad to pick from as he looks forward to becoming the first Rayon coach to beat APR, having been the last to do  it before he walked out on the club for greener pastures in the Seychelles.

Ends