IVAN Minneart, the Rayon Sports head coach, has praised the team spirit and determination of his players that saw them

storm the quarter-finals of the 2018 Peace Cup following a 2-0 win over Etincelles on Wednesday.

This was Rayon’s first victory in eight games in all competitions. The last time Rayon had won a game was on April 28 when they routed Bugesera 5-0 in an Azam Rwanda Premier League match.

The Blues became the last team to reach the last eight, at the expense of Etincelles 3-1 on aggregate. The first-leg ended in a drab 1-1 stalemate before Minneart’s men overcame the Rubavu-based side 2-0 in the return-leg.

Burundi international Pierrot Kwizera and countryman Hussein ‘Tchabalala’ Shaban scored the two goals, in the 22nd minute and 42nd minute, respectively.

While talking to Times Sport on Thursday, the Belgian coach hailed ‘never give up’ character his players showed despite a run of poor results.

At the start of it all, Rayon were held by SC Kiyovu in a 2-all draw in the league before drawing 1-1 with Etincelles in Peace Cup. They then shared 1-all spoils with Kirehe in the league, then another 1-1 draw against Kenya’s Gor Mahia in CAF Confederation Cup before playing out a goalless draw with Mukura.

A week later, the Rwandan champions suffered another draw, 0-0 with Young Africans of Tanzania in the Confederation Cup followed by a 1-1 league draw against Etincelles.

"Most of my players are experienced and mature, they showed exactly that. We hope the win over Etincelles brings down the curtain on poor results, we need to start winning, and be more intentional about it.” Minneart told Times Sport yesterday.

Rayon will meet Marines in the Peace Cup quarter-final. The first-leg will be played on June 13 in Rubavu District before the return-leg fixture a week later in Kigali.

The former Mukura tactician praised his players for their hard work and remaining unshaken, saying they had "the worst possible calendar” over the last two months, in three different competitions namely; the league, Peace Cup, and the CAF Confederation Cup

Rayon Sports who last clinched the Peace Cup in 2016, before lifting the league title last year are now targeting a domestic double this season. "We are envolved in three competitions at the moment, and they are all important to us. It would be premature to say we will win the Confederation Cup but, the league and Peace Cup are definitely in our reach. We are targeting a double this season,” he emphasised.

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