Rwandan champions APR FC faltered in Kigali on Saturday, September 14, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Egyptian powerhouse Pyramids FC in the 2024/25 CAF Champions League second round first leg game.
It was a game that APR could have got the needed home win ahead of the difficult return encounter in Cairo. They, however, squandered the opportunity and they may live to rue the misses in the first leg.
ALSO READ: CAF CL: Mayele scores late equaliser as Pyramids hold APR in Kigali
Looking at the game, a win was within the military side’s reach but they failed to do the basic things to get it as the game ended 1-1.
But where did coach Darko Novic and his side get it wrong?
Poor tactics from Novic
These are the same players who defeated Azam 2-0 and, against Pyramids, Novic applied the same tactics but, in the end, he got it wrong.
Unlike the game against Azam, Bosco Ruboneka, who was playing as a number 10, was supposed to stay close to Mamadou Sy and sometimes use him as a decoy was lost.
Ruboneka decided to stay deep and leave Sy in isolation. There was a huge gap between the two players who were supposed to coordinate and, as a result, APR wasn&039;t a threat in the mmifield.
Profligacy among attackers
Pyramids FC is a well-organised team and any side which plays against them doesn't get much chances. The little chances you get; you must utilize them to good use.
When APR were 1-0 ahead, they were still piling pressure on the visitors pushing for the second goal which would have given them security ahead of the second leg in Cairo. Winger Gilbert Mugisha got a free chance, had acres of space on the left and, as he advanced towards the Pyramids penalty box, he just put his head down and ballooned the ball over the bar.
This was a glorious chance that could have put APR 2-0 up. He could have raised his head look at the keeper and go for placement despite pressure from the defenders. He, however, chose to keep his head down and hit the ball over the bar.
Novic got it wrong with substitutions
Taddeo Lwanga was doing a decent job, he was anchoring the midfield as he sat just in front of the back four doing all the dirty job around the area.
However, Novic decided to take him out in the 65th minute, bringing on a defender in Aliou Souane to play a number 6 role. That eventually broke APR midfield and allowed Pyramids to take control.
ALSO READ: CAF CL: Novic insists APR ‘still have a chance’ to qualify for group stages
The Serbian at the time overlooked Frodouard Mugiraneza who was on the bench despite having the same qualities as Lwanga. He could have come to continue the work that Lwanga was doing but Novic chose to bring Souane to improvise.
Again APR needed two strikers upfront to pile pressure on the Pyramids defense. And, instead of bringing in Mbaoma to pair with Mamadou Sy upfront in push for the second goal, Novic decided to stick to one number 9 as Mbaoma came in for Sy.
Poor communication among APR defenders
Great players can get "lost" in games for 89 minutes and come up with the winner in the 90th minute. That makes them standout as real gems.
Fiston Mayele was virtually out of the game, Yunusu Nshimiyimana had man-marked him for 82 minutes. But Mayele needed just one chance to put the ball at the back of net.
The APR defense failed to mark him in the buildup when Pyramids were preparing for corner kick and Mayele showed his predatory instincts with a superb header to make it 1-1.
APR looked down after Mayele’s equaliser
The hosts virtually gave up after Mayele&039;s equaliser in the 81st minute. They played with no urgency to regroup and keep the tempo just like they did before Pyramids leveled the scores but it was even the away side which was pushing to score the winner.
The players were lackadaisical on the ball and took delight in just passing the ball around instead of surging forward into the Pyramids vital area.