SundayMarines 0-2 PolicePepiniere 2-1 Gicumbi

SaturdayBugesera 1-1 APRAS Kigali 1-0 EspoirSunrise 0-3 MusanzeKirehe Fc 3-1 Mukura Etincelles 1-0 Amagaju

FridayRayon Sports 3-0 SC Kiyovu

After finishing the first round of the 2016/17 national football league at the summit of the standings, Rayon Sports skipper and goalkeeper Eric ‘Bakame’ Ndayishimiye believes the Blues are favourites to win the title.

Rayon Sports, who last won the championship in 2013/2014, had been on top of the table since match day 3 until they lost their unbeaten run a week ago, losing 1-0 against their bitter rivals and defending champions APR FC, hence slipping to second place.

However, Djuma Masudi’s team did not take long before they could reclaim the top spot following a 3-0 -win over SC Kiyovu on match day 15, on Friday, at Kigali Regional Stadium.

The Blues have 36 points, two ahead of second-placed APR, who squandered their chance to remain the leaders following a 1-all draw away to Bugesera FC in Nyamata on Saturday. Bakame, who last season guided Rayon to their first Peace Cup title in eight years, revealed to Times Sport that he and his teammates were "hungry” to win another league title.

He said they were looking to remain in pole position during the second round of the season.

"We are absolutely delighted to lead the league table at the half way stage of the season, we are hungry to win the league title again and we’ll give our best to win as many games as possible in the second round,” said Bakame.

The Amavubi first choice custodian added, "We are capable of winning the title but we will need to be in good shape mentally and be resilient against top teams.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Police FC returned to third place after they beat Marines 2-0 at Umuganda Stadium to amass 31 points.

Police striker Dany Usengimana lead the top scorers’ charts with 12 goals, after scoring the second goal in the 75th minute after Justin Mico had put Innocent Seninga’s team ahead in the 28th minute.

AS Kigali, who defeated Espoir 1-0 on Saturday, dropped to fourth with 29 points, while Vincent Mashami’s Bugesera climbed up the table into fifth following their 1-all draw against APR. Espoir are in sixth spot with 25 points, four ahead of Musanze in seventh, while Etincelles are eighth with 20 points. Sunrise and SC Kiyovu are tied on 18 points in 9th and 10th positions, respectively.

Kirehe, who edged Mukura in a 3-1 goal thriller over the weekend, are 11th with 16 points, one point ahead of the Huye-based side who are ranked 12th.

Amagaju, who lost 1-0 to Etincelles FC, and Marines, who were beaten by Police FC 0-2, are in 13th and 14th with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Pepiniere and Gicumbi are in the relegation zone with 8 and 5 points, respectively. Pepiniere edged Gicumbi 2-1 in their match day 15 encounter in Ruyenzi.

The second round is slated to kick off in two-weeks time.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw