Rayon march past Isonga to reach Peace Cup final

Results Isonga 0-4 Rayon Sports (1-6 aggregate) Rayon Sports humiliated Isonga 4-0 yesterday at Kicukiro Stadium to reach the final of the Peace Cup that will be played on July 4 at Amahoro Stadium. Rayon Sports opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Bertrand Uwayezu after a counter attack involving Eric Irambona and Peter Otema. Burundian international Pierrot Kwizera scored the second for the Blues after coming off the bench for Peter Otema. Frank Lomami scored a beautiful strike in the 69th minute from 35 yards before Djihad Bizimana completed the rout with a well-taken free-kick in the 89th minute. Arguabley, the most popular club in Rwanda, Rayon proceeded to the final of the Peace Cup with a 6-1 victory on aggregate, having beaten Isonga 2-1 in the first leg last weekend. Rayon head coach Jean Baptiste Kayiranga praised his players: “They did a fantastic job. They gave their best in this tournament. They deserve the credit. We are going for the final and we need to prepare well and get a good result. We don’t know who we will play against but we must do our best against whoever we will meet.” Isonga dominated the first half with several attempts of scoring but were denied by defenders Jean Marie Vianney Rukundo, James Tubane, Faustin Usengimana, and skipper goalkeeper Eric Ndayishimiye. Isonga had six corners in the first half but failed to make the most of them while Rayon Sports had three corners in the entire match. His counterpart Innocent Seninga hailed his young players for reaching the semi final for the first time ever. “I am telling you my boys gave their best. I am satisfied with the performance and skills they have shown in this tournament,” he noted. Forwards Danny Usengimana and Kevin Muhire had a chance each to score for the youthful side but failed to beat goalkeeper Eric Ndayishimiye, while Muhire had another open chance to put Isonga in the lead in the first half but the deflected ball hit the post. Rayon Sports used counterattacks through Peter Otema, Pierrot Kwizera, Emmanuel Imanishimwe and Bertrand Uwayezu to maximum effect. In the second half, Rayon Sports came up with new strategies to neutralize Seninga’s side and scored three times. Rayon Sports will face the winner between APR and Police, who will meet today in the second leg after drawing 1-1 in the first leg. editorial@newtimes.co.rw