Bugesera 2-1 APR FCSC Kiyovu 1-2 Rayon SportsMusanze 1-0 Sunrise FCEspoir 0-1 AS KigaliGicumbi 1-3 PepinierePolice FC 4-2 MarinesMukura VS 0-1 Kirehe FCAmagaju 0-1 Etincelles

Police FC head coach Innocent Seninga has expressed his delight after guiding the law enforcers’ side to a second place finish in the AZAM Rwanda Premier League that climaxed on Thursday. Police wound up the season with a 4-2 win over Marines at Kicukiro Stadium.

Dany Usengimana’s strike in thier final match of the season saw him finish as the league top scorer with 19 goals hence becoming the first player to win the prize in successive seasons.

"Finishing second in the league means that we have achieved one of our targets for the season. After realising that we would not win the title, we focused on taking the second place, so we can now focus on the Peace Cup,” Seninga said.

The former Kiyovu and Etincelles coach added, "We wanted to win the league but we failed because we lost some important points because if you want to win the league, you need to avoid dropping many points on your nearest rivals, as we did with Rayon Sports.”

"We are happy to finish the league on a high, now we need to prepare for the Peace Cup quarter-final tie against Rayon Sports, they’re the defending champions but we see that as a good opportunity to win a trophy this season,” stated Seninga, who joined Police FC at the start of the season.

Meanwhile, record 16-time league champions APR FC finished outside the top two for the first time in the team’s history after ending the season in third place following a 2-1 defeat to Bugesera FC at Stade Muhanga.

Rayon Sports won the league with 73 points having lost just once against APR, while Police finished six points behind with Jimmy Mulisa’s APR ending the season four points adrift of Police. AS Kigali on 53 points, completed the top four.

Djamal Mwiseneza put the military side ahead while Nigerian Samson Ikechukwu equalised for Bugesera before former APR striker Faruk Saifi Ssentongo netted the winner to earn crucial points for Gilbert Kanyankore’s side to finish the season in fifth place with 50 points.

APR finished the game with ten men after midfielder Yannick Mukunzi was sent off for a second-bookable offence in the second half.

It means that for APR to play continental football next year; they have to win the Peace Cup and represent Rwanda in the CAF Confederation Cup. They have to meet Bugesera FC twice again in the quarter-final.

Eric Nshimiyimana’s AS Kigali managed a slim 1-0 win over Espoir in Rusizi to finish in fourth spot with 53 points. Espoir finished the season in eighth place with 39 points.

But the biggest story on the final day was about one of Rwanda’s oldest clubs, SC Kiyovu, losing their 53-year status in the topflight division following relegation to second division.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw