Peace Cup: Pepiniere FC target quarter-final slot

Preliminary round TuesdayAspor 0-1 Unity SCKirehe FC 1-0 InterforceMiroplast FC 4-1 UR FCEtoile de l’Est 3-0 SEC AcademyHope FC 3-1 NyagatareHeroes FC 1-0 GitikinyoniVision FC 3-0 RugendeIntare 0-0 Vision JN (*Pens.5-3)Pepiniere 3-2 Gasabo UnitedUnited Stars 4-0 AkageraRwamagana City 0-1 Esperance Pepiniere FC have set themselves the target of reaching the quarterfinals of 2018 Peace Cup after defeating second division league rivals Gasabo United 3-2 in the preliminary round on Tuesday at Kigali Stadium. Forward Mudasiri Twagiramungu scored twice in the 12th and 27th minutes while left-back Jean Claude Arihokubwayo also got on the scoring sheet in the 80th minute for the Ruyenzi-based side. Yves Fabrice Habimana and Hakizimana scored for Gasabo United in the 54th minute and 67th minutes, respectively. After the match, Pepinierre FC head coach Jean Paul Muhoza said that his team, which were relegated from the Azam Rwanda Premier League last season, have their eyes set on a place in the last eight of the competition. “We’re happy for the win today and now we have to switch our focus to the next round,” he said. “We don’t know who we’re going to meet but our target is to at least reach the quarterfinals.” Elsewhere, Azam Rwanda Premier League sides Miroplast and Kirehe FC avoided early exits at the hands of teams from the second-tier league. Miroplast, promoted to the topflight division this season, thrashed UR FC 4-1 at Stade de Muhanga, while Kirehe snatched a slim 1-0 win against Interforce in Rwamagana. As a result, Kirehe, Miroplast, Etoile de l’Est, Hope, Heroes, Vision, Intare, Pepiniere, United Stars, Unity and Esperance joined 15 other clubs who get automatic qualification in the next round. The 15 include Amagaju FC, APR FC, AS Kigali, AS Muhanga, Bugesera, Espoir, Etincelles, Gicumbi, La Jeneusse, Marines, Mukura, Police, Rayon Sports, SC Kiyovu, and Sunrise FC. The 11 losers, alongside Sorwathe, will meet in a play-off round on February 3. After the play-off round, the round of the 32 (1/16th) will begin with the first leg action scheduled on February 6-7 while the return leg is slated for February 21-22. APR are the holders and will represent Rwanda in this year’s CAF Confederation Cup. editorial@newtimes.co.rw