Amavubi dismal run worries coach

Sunday Tunisia U23 1-0 Rwanda Friday Rwanda 0-1 Burkina Faso Rwanda national football team ended a 10-day training camp on a low note after losing to Tunisia’s Olympic team 1-0 in a friendly match in Rabat on Sunday to take their losing streak to four straight matches. Amavubi Stars also finished the game with ten men after center-back Faustin Usengimana was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 75th minute. It was the second defeat in as many days for Johnny McKinstry’s team, that also went down 1-0 against the Burkina Faso CHAN team on Friday. Rwanda is using friendly matches to prepare for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Libya that will be played within the November 7-19 timeline as well as the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN), which will be staged in Rwanda from January 16 to February 7 next year. Similar to Friday’s game against Burkina Faso, Amavubi dominated possession against Tunisia’s U-23 side but failed to turn it into scoring opportunities and paid the ultimate price in the 38th minute when Wajdi Kechrida netted the only goal of the match. It’s now four consecutive matches without a win or draw for McKinstry’s team after losing to Ghana in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at Amahoro stadium 1-0 on September 5. The team lost to Gabon 1-0 at Amahoro stadium in a friendly game on September 12 thanks to Engozoo Avebe’s goal while on Friday they were beaten 1-0 by Burkina Faso with the goal coming from Yacouba Songne. McKinstry said, “It is a frustrating result given the performance and effort of the players, Tunisia had one shot on goal and they went 1-0 up from it. Apart from some free kicks they had that didn’t really trouble our goalkeeper, we maintained our shape and kept them at bay.” “At the other end we created some chances, with their goalkeeper making two good saves in the first half to deny our forwards. So it was largely a very even game for the first 70. At that stage however we went down to 10 men following Faustin Usengimana’s second yellow card.” “I thought the referees seemed to blow the whistle for everything. They didn’t allow any contact at all for either team and I thought this disrupted the flow of the game, and ultimately saw us go down to 10 men for nothing much at all,” the Northern Irishman noted. The 30-year-old tactician believes that if anything however, this gave his players more motivation and added they were the better side in the last 15 minutes as they pushed for the equalizer with both Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza and Haruna Niyonzima coming so close. “It is clear that the killer instinct in-front of goal is the main ingredient we are lacking at the moment,” the former head coach Serra Leone explained. The team will resume training on Tuesday before returning home on Thursday afternoon. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

Sports

Amavubi dismal run worries coach