Battle of the titans

As archrivals Rayon and APR face-off TodayRayon v APR Atraco v Electrogaz Police v AS Kigali Amagaju v Mukura Kiyovu v La Jeunesse Archrivals Rayon Sport and APR renew their traditional enmity this afternoon when their meet in the league second round at Amahoro stadium. Rayon Sport, six-time winners of the national football league have been hungry for success for the past five years and their good form this season leaves them in contention for the title but if they win against record nine-time champions, APR. The Blues have amassed 29 points in 14 league matches and they are placed third on the table standings, four points behind the leaders APR and two points adrift second-placed Atraco. Head coach Raoul Shungu is confident his troops must win today’s derby to boost their chances of winning this year’s league title, the first since 2004. “My focus is to win the league title for Rayon Sport. The players are in good shape and focused on winning the game. “We must maintain our consistency that we’ve shown since the start of the season, avoid silly making mistakes, which would give APR a chance to break through and score goals,” stressed the Congolese born coach. Shungu has been boosted with the availability of players’ such as Eric Gatoto, Jimmy Kidega, Yusuf Ndayishimiye, Peke Yake and Cyril Pizzolera, all of whom didn’t feature in the corresponding fixture that ended 1-1. They are coming off a deserved 1-0 win over AS Kigali a week ago and have been outstanding in all their home ground fixtures in this campaign. The blues are just about still in the national league title race, but anything less than a win against APR will severely restrict their chances. Rayon’s problem has been blunt strikers, scoring 20 goals and this would leave them as worst attackers of the three title contenders, though fairness they have one of the best defence too, having conceded nine goals in that time. Atraco are the league’s highest scorers with 35 goals followed by APR, who have netted 28. Bottom placed Kiyovu are the worst scorers with just eight goals in 14 matches. Meanwhile, APR has plenty of excellent players who will be out to bargain ‘the price tag’ for Rayon. Coach Rene Feller said, “I hope the ground will be dry such that our goalie can also be included in the possession. Otherwise I have no worries at all; we are in tomorrow’s (today) for the victory.” Congolese striker Ndjoli Bokungu, who scored on his debut in the corresponding game, has been included in the team for today’s game despite being missing the last game against Kibuye on disciplinary grounds. However, striker partner Bokota Labama won’t face his old, club with a fever and midfielder Jean Baptista Mugiraneza has not recovered from a toe injury sustained during the African Youth Championship last month. The Military side won their last game against Kibuye thanks to goal from skipper Mbuyu Twite and Haruna Niyonzima to consolidate their top spot at the summit of the league table with 33 points. Rayon last won the league title in 2004 with Shungu while APR won their ninth title in 2007. The champions, Atraco can go top with a win against Electrogaz at Shorongyi grounds if the game of the day (Rayon v APR) ends in a draw. Top scorers J. Lomami 12 (Atraco)H. Kitagenda 8 (Atraco)P. Gasana 7 (AS-Kigali) Ends

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Battle of the titans