Police seek to stop APR FC

SundayAPR FC vs Police FC 3:30pmAmagaju FC vs SC Kiyovu Rwamagana City vs Mukura VS Musanze FC vs AS Muhanga Marines FC vs Gicumbi FC Following last week’s shock 2-0 loss away to Bugesera FC, Police FC head coach Andre Cassa Mbungo will be hoping for his team to bounce back with a bang when they take on APR FC in the national football league on Sunday at Kigali Regional Stadium. Defending champions, APR, who were themselves, stunned 1-0 by lowly Etincelles 10 days ago before recovering to beat third-placed Mukura Victory Sports 2-1 on Wednesday to regain top spot from Rayon Sports. APR on 37 points after 17 rounds of matches, lead the league table, six points head of Police, who in 4th place but Cassa Mbungo believes his team has what it takes to win and cut the gap to three points. Police will be without key five players including goalkeeper Emery Mvuyekure, left-back Mwemere Ngirinshuti, midfielder Rashid Kalisa and striker Danny Usengimana, all injured, while forward Isaie Songa is suspended after accumulating two yellow cards from the last two games. Mbungo said, “We will be aiming for a win, if things don’t turn out the way we expect, it will be bad for us because we want to stay in the title race. We still have a marathon to end to the league. We lost a battle (against Bugesera) but the war is still on, and on Sunday we will play for three points.” “We need to win the game against APR because we have to be near the top teams. We know APR is a big team with a very good squad, but we are confident that we can win and close the gap at the top,” the former AS Kigali tactician noted. However, his APR counterpart, Nizar Khanfir thinks the defending champions have picked top form and would anything to win and maintain their place at the top. The Tunisian said: “I watched Police when they beat Mukura and they have quality of players, so it is going to be hard game for both teams. Police are one of the title challengers, but we don’t want to lose the game which would mean losing first position.” Khanfir will be welcomed full back Albert Ngabo and striker Michel Ndahinduka, who have been out of action due to injuries but midfielders Andre Buteera and Jamal Mwiseneza are still out. Head-to-head, APR, bidding for a record-extending 15th league title, holds the edge over Police in the last 13 meetings in the league—the military side have won five, lost two and drawn six. The last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, the game between Rayon Sports and Etincelles has been postponed because the former, who second in the table, have three players namely; Kevin Muhire, Jabir Imanishimwe and Dominique-Savio Nshuti, on international duty with the Rwanda U-20 national side against Uganda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw