SC Kiyovu Captain Yves Kimenyi admits his side owe the Rwanda Premier League title to their supporters who still accuse the team of throwing last year’s trophy to APR at the last minute.
The Mumena-based side was on the verge of claiming the title last season but Kimenyi and his teammates suffered some infamous slips that were too hard for supporters to digest.
The Green Baggies now have a two-point lead in the title race with just three games to go and the supporters are hoping that the team can recover from last season’s heartbreak to finally lift the Rwanda Premier League title.
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Kimenyi believes this season could be a decisive one as they bid to clinch their first league title since 1993.
"I think we owe the title to our supporters. We need to put in some really good performances and finish the race in a strong fashion,” Kimenyi told Weekend Sport.
"It is really important that we get some momentum into this year. They have been behind us even in games where we have been in a bit of a sticky situation."
"I think we have had really good performances so far so we need to keep the spirit and never stop like we did last season and finish the league strong not by winning the title. It is really important we get some momentum into this year," the skipper added
It’s a three-game sprint!
SC Kiyovu have big fixtures ahead of them. They will have to overcome Musanze, Sunrise and relegation strugglers Rutsiro who are still fighting to stay in the topflight league next season.
They must win all the games, keeping in mind that any slip could blow their chances of winning the title, with Rayon or APR getting ready to capitalize on any single error that Kimenyi and his teammates may make on the road.
"That probably sums up our league. We need to win every game and take it to the final and there's no room for dropping points,” the former Rayon Sports shot stopper said.
Kimenyi said that they have put last year's title loss aside. All they are focused on is avoiding to finish the season in disappointment and finally have the last laugh on the race for the title as champions.
"We were really disappointed last season and it was a real tough one to take but we have taken the lessons from the last minute little loss but we are ready for the challenge this time and everyone is giving their best. We will take every game as a final this time,” he noted.
"It is hard to look behind our past two seasons but we are ready physically and mentally. We have to be at our best level for the three remaining matches."
The oldest club in Rwanda, SC Kiyovu have not won the title since 1993 when they won it with an unbeaten run.
The Green side was the most successful football club in the country before the horrendous events of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, having won six league titles and four in the previous ten years.