APR, Kiyovu jostle for Peace Cup final slot

2014 Peace Cup Semi finals, 1st leg Today, 3.30pm APR vs. SC Kiyovu (Stade de Kigali) Sec Academy vs. Police (Mumena) LEAGUE CHAMPIONS APR and SC Kiyovu will lock horns this afternoon in the semi finals of this year’s Peace Cup at Kigali Regional Stadium. The military side go into the game as favourites having beaten the old giants in two of their previous league matches last season. APR emerged victors in two league matches, winning 2-0 and 2-1 over the two legs against SC Kiyovu which was under coach Gilbert Yaounde Kanyankole who has since joined Burundi’s Vital’ O. However, interim coach Ashraf Kadubiri has instilled confidence in the team since he took over from Kanyankole early this month. In his first game, SC Kiyovu snatched a 1-0 win against Espoir over the weekend in the quarter final round of the Peace Cup competition. However, APR who have lifted seven Peace Cup titles will miss the services of Barnabas Mubumbyi after he accumulated two yellow cards. Mubumbyi helped APR eliminate arch rivals Rayon Sports in the quarter final. Coach Mashami believes his boys can live up to the occasion as they seek to win a double this season. “There is no favourite going into the game but we are ready for the challenge. SC Kiyovu deserves their respect and our job is to ensure a clinical finish as we aim to win this title,” “We have no room for complacency and every player knows that. It’s business as usual and we need to win by a big margin before we play the second leg,” added Mashami. Jean Baptista, Jean Claude Iranzi and Michel Ndahinduka who had minor injury scares from last week’s match against Rayon Sports are all fit for today’s crunch game. Speaking to Times Sport, a confident Kadubiri said, “APR is just like any other club, so we will play our game with a mission of securing a win. It is possible to beat them but the best team will walk home with a win,” “Besides suspended defender Djuma Niyonkuru, the rest of the players are fit and ready to face APR. It’s been long since we last won silverware and this is the only chance we have to revive our cabinet trophy,” added Kadubiri, a former Amavubi and SC Kiyovu player. Burundian striker Laudit Mavugo will be SC Kiyovu’s key player upfront to take on APR’s defensive line up of Ismail Nshutiyamagara and Emery Bayisenge. In the other game, Sam Ssimbwa’s Police face an unknown second division side Sec Academy at Mumena stadium. Sec Academy wrote history as they edged out Amagaju with a 4-0 win before Police registered a slim 2-1 win over Musanze last week. Sec Academy will miss midfielder Jean Luc Bisangwa who is suspended. This is the only competition Ugandan tactician Ssimbwa has to win in order to retain his place at the Law and Order outfit. Police who have gone more than ten seasons without a trophy must win today’s match to keep their dream alive of winning their maiden silverware and even represent Rwanda at next year’s Caf club competition. The second leg is scheduled for June 27 while the final is slated for July 4, when the country celebrates Liberation Day.