APR's duo back from injury

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Today APR vs Gicumbi (Regional) SC Kiyovu vs Espoir (Mumena) Tomorrow AS Kigali vs Etincelles (Regional) Marines vs Musanze (Umuganda) Police vs Isonga (Kicukiro) Mukura vs Amagaju (Mumena) Sunrise vs Rayon Sports (Rwamagana) AFTER a spell out of action due to injury, APR’s duo of Michel Rusheshangoga and Jean Claude Iranzi will be the men to watch when the reigning champions host Gicumbi in a National Football League encounter at the Kigali regional stadium today. The dependable right back Rusheshangoga and creative midfielder Jean Claude Iranzi are expected to make a mark against stubborn Gicumbi side that will be eyeing to cause an upset against the army side. APR head coach Ljubomir Petrovic is aware of the threat posed by Gicumbi and will not take any chances today as he has made it clear that his target is bagging maximum points to maintain the lead at the top of the league table. The Serbian tactician revealed that he will field a strong side and the return of the duo will boost the record champions that have featured a weakened outfit since the start of the season following eight injuries to regular starters. “I am so happy that Rusheshangoga and Iranzi are back from injury. It means that now we shall try to play more attacking football and Iranzi’s experience and creativity in midfield will make us more lethal. We want to win this game,” said Petrovic. In the absence of Andrew Buteera and Charles Tibingana who are yet to get documents proving their Rwandan nationality, a prerequisite to feature for APR, youngster Patrick Sibomana and Maxime Sekamana have produced match winning performances including registering their names on the score sheet. Against Mukura last weekend, they each netted a goal as APR triumphed 2-0 to open a three point lead at the league summit after Rayon Sports forced a 2-2 draw against Kiyovu last weekend. Petrovic said that, “If we want to retain the league title, we have to be consistent and winning games is what will get us there. So we do not take anything for granted. We focus on winning one game at a time.” Elsewhere, SC Kiyovu hosts Espoir at the Mumena stadium with Ali Bizimungu’s side eyeing a fifth victory this season while the Rusizi based side is yet to register an away win this season.