Marines head coach 'Coka' not hitting panic bottom yet

By Jejje Muhinde Match-day 5 fixtures Nov. 18SC Kiyovu vs Musanze FC 3:30pmNov. 19Police FC vs Mukura VS 3:30pmBugesera FC vs Marines Sunrise FC vs Rayon Sports FC Nov. 20APR FC vs Kirehe FC 3:30pmEtincelles vs Pepinieres Amagaju FC vs AS Kigali Gicumbi FC vs Espoir FC Marines FC have not won a single game in the 2016/17 season with four rounds of matches played so far. Rubavu-based Marines are bottom of the table with one point which came in a goalless draw in their opening match of the season against Espoirs FC, who are currently in 12th place after four successive draws. Marines FC head coach Abdoulkarim ‘Coka’ Nduhirabandi believes he can still turn round the team’s fortunes when they face Bugesera FC at Nyamara ground after the international break. “We are not secure at the moment. There is pressure in every game, but the good thing is that it’s still early, so we have ample time to work and correct our mistakes during this (international) break. The pause has come at the right time to enable us to work on a few things,” said Coka. He added: “One point from four matches is not ideal and we still have much to do to improve, and in any case there are still 11 more games to be played in the first round and I am quite confident we can do a lot better and move out of the danger zone.” Since the opening day draw against Espoir, Coka’s team have had a run of three consecutive defeats – to AS Kigali, Rayon Sports and Sunrise – conceding three goals in each game. On match-day five, Marines will be up against ninth-placed Bugesera FC, who have collected five points thus far. In the 2015/16 league season, Marines also had one point from the first four matches before turning things around, in the end winning seven games, drawing 12 and losing 11 to finish the season in the 10th position with 33 points. League tableRayon 4 3 1 0 10Sunrise FC 4 3 1 0 10Police FC 4 3 0 1 9Kirehe FC 4 3 0 1 9APR FC 4 2 2 0 8Musanze 4 2 1 1 7Mukura 4 2 0 2 6Etincelles 4 2 0 2 6Bugesera 4 1 2 1 5Gicumbi 4 1 1 2 4AS Kigali 4 1 1 2 4Espoir 4 0 4 0 4SC Kiyovu 4 1 0 3 3Amagaju 4 0 1 3 1Pepiniere 4 0 1 3 1Marines 4 0 1 3 1 editorial@newtimes.co.rw