There were crazy scenes at Ubworoherane Stadium as four goals came in fourteen minutes as APR FC defeated Musanze FC 3-1 on Sunday, February 4 to extend their gap at the top of the Primus National League.
It was a keenly contested game until the 80th minute when the goals started coming.
APR FC recovered from their shock Heroes Cup final defeat to Police FC to claim their three crucial points and put the title race in control.
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Coach Thierry Friger made two changes to the team that lost to Police , as he introduced Ramadhan Niyibizi and Claude Niyomugabo who took the place of midfield duo Ismail Nshimirimana and Sharaf Shaiboub respectively.
Musanze, on the other hand, had Mathaba Lethabo and Solomon Adeyinka spearheading their attack.
From the early stages, Musanze FC tried to dictate the tempo of the game with their skipper Patrick Ntijyinama operating in a box-to-box position.
It was APR, however, who had the first clear chance at goal in the 24th minute after Alain Kwitonda broke loose on the right. His effort did not get the needed connection as goalkeeper Gad Muhawenayo saved the situation.
Yannick Bizimana also created a host of decent chances before Kokoete Udo created space for himself but saw his effort wide to the relief of the APR faithfuls in the 39th minute.
Both teams held on as they went to the half time break with the scores still goalless.
In the second half, APR came strongly into the game as they pushed for the opener but the Musanze defense stood resolute as they thwarted most of their efforts.
Adeyinka, Valeur Nduwayo and Mathaba proved dangerous on numerous occasions but Clément Niyigena and Yunusu Nshimiyimana stopped them from causing havoc.
Froger brought on Thaiba Mbonyumwami for Yannick Bizimana to bolster his attack and it changed the phase of the game.
APR became more vibrant up front and broke the deadlock in the 80th minute through Alain Kwitonda but Musanze quickly canceled the visitors’ lead through Methaba Lethaba before Ombolenga Fitina netted a sublime drive from the right which goalkeeper Muhawenayo failed to save in the 85th minute.
Substitute Mbonyumwami put the icing on the cake with the third goal for APR in the 94th minute as they condemned Musanze to defeat at their own backyard.
The military side’s victory saw them remain unbeaten in the league this season. They are now at the top of the table with 39 points whereas Musanze are third with 33 points.
Other Games
Police FC were shockingly held to a 1-1 draw by lowly-ranked Etincelles FC. Amani Rutayisire scored for Etincelles in the 45th minute before in-form Peter Agblevor equalized in the 46th minute.
Elsewhere, Amagaju came from a goal down to beat Muhazi United 2-1 at Ngoma Stadium.