Police FC look to stay in title race with win over APR FC

Sunday Police FC vs APR FC 3:30pmKirehe FC vs MarinesSunrise FC vs SC Kiyovu Police Football Club may be remaining with very slim likelihood, if any, to win the league title but they know they can boost their chances of finishing ahead of reigning champions APR FC when both teams meet on Saturday at Kicukiro Stadium, kick off at 3:30pm. APR currently occupy second place in the league table with 50 points, three ahead of Police FC, who are third with both teams having six rounds of matches remaining. Rayon Sports, who have played two games less, lead the table with 55 points before their game against Musanza FC on Saturday. With Rayon Sports, who have lost just once the whole season and are odds-on favourites to win the league, this encounter will be more about fighting for bragging right on who finishes in second place, which could come with a ticket to play in next year’s CAF Confederation Cup in the case that the Blues also win the Peace Cup. For Police FC head coach Innocent Seninga, Saturday’s game will go a long way to determine if his team can finish above APR for the first time in the club history. The law and order enforcers’ side have been a residential training camp in Shyorongi, Rulindo district, for the past seven days. The corresponding fixture, APR FC came from behind twice to force a 2-2 draw. Seninga is confidence to get the last laugh, “I believe we still have an outside chance to win the league and if you are fighting for the title, these are the sort of games that you need to win.” “We have to prove against APR that we’re still in contention, we drew with Rayon Sports, who are leading and if we can get three points on Sunday, we take second spot, which is very important,” the former SC Kiyovu and Etincelles coach told Sunday Sport. “The mood is high, I believe we’re a better team than when we last met in the first round and drew 2-2, a game that we could easily have won,” he added. Police’s striking force of Dany Usengimana, the league top scorer with 15 goals and Justin Mico, who has netted 12 goals, have scored a combined 25 of the team’s 37 goals in 24 matches. On the other hand, in their last ten games, APR have won four, drawn five and lost one, scoring 10 goals and conceding six—their top scorer in the league, Issa Bigirimana has five goals. Head coach Jimmy Mulisa, after last week’s 2-0 win against struggling SC Kiyovu, has admitted that his side faces a serious crisis in their striking line. Their other forwards, namely; Onesme Twizerimana, Fiston Nkenzingabo, Muhadjiri Hakizimana and Innocent Nshuti, have not contributed enough goals, which is a big concern for Mulisa. “We got the three points, which was the most important thing but did it in the most difficult way. I have to admit that we have a very big problem in our striking force,” Mulisa told Times Sport after the match. He added that, “In most games that we have won, it’s been by one goal if we manage to finish this season well, it’s something that we will need to address next season.” APR FC have scored a total of 32 goals and conceded 15 compared to Rayon Sports, who have scored 49 and conceded just 12 goals. editorial@newtimes.co.rw