APR see off Rayon Sports challenge to snatch top spot

APR 2-1 Rayon Sports APR Captain Ismael ‘Kodo’ Nshutinamagara scored an early goal and put in a man of the match performance as the military side beat rivals Rayon Sport to move 3 points ahead of the blues in the National football league. The APR skipper met a perfect corner kick taken by former Rayon Sports’ winger Djamal Mwiseneza to find the back of the net as APR dominated possession in the early stages of the match. APR striker Michel Ndahinduka trying to get past Rayon Sports defenders. (T.Kisambira) Striker Michel Ndahinduka and Patrick Sibomana missed easy chances in the first half which could have seen APR take a comfortable lead. Rayon Sports’ new recruit Peter Otema squandered a rare chance after he beat the entire APR defence with only goalkeeper Olivier Kwizera to beat but the Ugandan instead made a blind pass only for it to be cleared by Emery Bayisenge. In the second half, Patrick Sibomana’s free kick went straight into Blues’ goalkeeper Gerard Bikorimana, hands who had come off his line to give APR a 2-0 lead. APR defender Albert Ngabo is taken to Hosiptal after a gruesome eye injury.(T.Kisambira) The Blues then made three consecutive counter attacks but an intact APR defence manned by the dependable trio of Emery Bayisenge, Michel Rusheshangoga and Nshutinamagara fended off the scare from their biggest rivals. However, sloppy defending in the 80th minute handed Otema his third goal of the season to go joint top with Jacques Tuyisenge of Police FC and Kiyovu’s Miamy Mbakiye. APR winger Djamal Mwiseneza attempts to block a Rayon Sport striker from crossing the ball (T.Kisambira) The result sends the reigning champions on top of the table standings with 13 points while Rayon Sports drop to second position with 10 points from five games. APR coach Ljubomir Petrovic attributed the win to sheer passion of his team which executed the game plan despite missing key players like Andrew Buteera and Charles Tibingana. He said, “This win is very important for us because now we go on top of the table.” Anxious fans on the edge in the dramatic APR 2-1 win (T.Kisambira) Rayon Sports interim coach Sosthene Habimana blamed the loss on his side’s failure to create chances. He said, “We did not do much in front of goal. They deserved to win because they played better than us.” This is the second time the Nyanza based side is dropping points after a 1-1 draw with Musanze a week ago.