Rayon Sports coach Christian Francis Haringingo has promised to end the club’s three-year trophy drought by guiding the team to this season league title.
The National Football League has already started, with defending champions, APR, and the likes of AS Kigali and SC Kiyovu chasing silverware.
The Rayon Sports coach proved just how serious he is by masterminding Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Rutsiro.
"We have a good team but we need to raise the confidence levels in the dressing room and get the players believing again. Playing against a good team like Rutsiro was a good litmus test to weigh ourselves and up our league campaign,” Haringingo said.
Right from the first whistle, the blues proved too strong for the second division side. It was only a matter of time before the goals started coming.
Eric Mbirizi scored the opening goal for the blues in the 27th minute. Mumbere Marikidogo equalized in the 55th minute. Four minutes to end, Rayon Sports netted the winner through Didier Mucyo.
"It’s important that we do well in the first game. We need a good platform against Rutsiro. I have confidence in my team putting on a good performance the whole season,” the Burundian coach said.
Haringingo assured Rayon fans that their trophy drought is going to become a thing of the past. The last time Rayon won the league title was back in the 2018/2019 season.
"We played good and entertaining football. The win over Rutsiro was convincing and the team spirit has never been better because we wanted to start on a high note. It was a massive boost of our morale and confidence ahead of the next matches,” he noted.
Elsewhere, Rwamagana City lost 0-1 to Gorilla Fc, Bugesera Fc was beaten by Kiyovu sports at home 1-3, and Gasogi united beat Mukura 1-0.
In other matches, Sunrise FC beat Police FC 1-0, Espoir defeated Marines FC 1-0, AS Kigali kicked off the season on a high after beating Etincelles 2-0 while defending champion APR beat 2-1 Musanze.
The league will return on September 6 after the national team, Amavubi, plays Ethiopia in its search for a ticket to the CHAN 2023 finals to be held in Algeria.