FridayPolice FC 2-0 Gicumbi

SundayPipiniere vs Sunrise 3:30pm

After a faltering start, Police FC head coach Innocent Seninga is delighted after his team notched a third consecutive win in the national football league defeated Gicumbi 2-0 on Friday at Kicukiro Stadium.

Striker Danny Usengimana netted the opening goal in the ninth minute off a good cross from left-back Jean Marie Muvandimwe while new signing Justin Mico headed home the second in the 42nd minute – right-back Jean Paul Uwihoreye supplied the cross.

The win moved Police temporarily into second place before Saturday’s round of matches—they have nine points, level with leaders Sunrise FC, who could make it four wins in a row when they take on second from bottom side Pepiniere at Ruyenzi ground on Sunday.

"Our first target is to win matches but also play good football and in this game we have achieved that, then we can set ourselves other targets. In the meantime, I can’t hide my satisfaction with the way we are going about our business,” said Seninga.

Former AS Kigali striker Mico, who was named man of the match, could have ended the game with more than just the one goal to his name, after hitting the crossbar and forced three fine saves from Gicumbi goalkeeper.

Usengimana and midfielders Hegman Ngomirakiza and Mohamed Mushimiyimana also had chances to add to the goal tally but all failed to find the back of the net.

Seninga reserved special praise for Mico, "He is talented player but he needs to get confidence and time to settle in the team. I am happy with the way he plays with (Danny) Usengimana, they both make more good movement upfront.” 

"I am delighted not only with the result but the overall performance of my players because in the last three matches we were struggling to control proceedings,” noted the former SC Kiyovu and Etincelles coach.

His counterpart of Gicumbi, Hussein Baraka, admitted that, "We made mistakes in the first half which cost the game and we never recovered in the second period, but I hope after this loss, we can turn the corner and start winning more than we lose.” 

"We have to correct our mistakes during the international break. We are going back to see where we can correct especially for the individual errors and build on our confidence,” acknowledged the Tanzanian tactician.

Gicumbi FC, who stayed in ninth place with four points from four matches, tried to come back in the second half with chances through Ugandan striker Rashid Mutebi, including a one-on-one with Police goalie Marcel Nzarora, but couldn’t find the target.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw