Confederation Cup: Can AS Kigali make it to the group stages?

The CAF draw held in Cairo, Egypt last week, left AS Kigali drawn against Tunisian CS Sfaxien in the next round of the Total CAF Confederations Cup. The ‘Citizens’ progressed to the final round of the continental competition after defeating Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) on the away goals rule last week. Brian Ahebwa’s hat-trick at St Mary’s stadium, Kampala was not enough for his Ugandan side to overcome a 2-0 defeat, which was a result of CAF’s decision to punish the club for failing to raise a quorum of 15 players for the match day. Striker Muhadjiri Hakizimana’s away strike was enough to qualify his club to the next rounds. They now face a tough test in the qualification round when they visit CS Sfaxien side on February 14 before hosting the return leg in Kigali on February 21. The Tunisian side are the kings of CAF Confederations Cup, having won it on three occasions since its inception in 2004, replacing the Cup Winners Cup. Will head coach Eric Nshimiyimana’s side prove doubters wrong and progress to the group stages for the first time in the club’s history? Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA)’s sports journalist, Patrick Habarugira, who traveled with AS Kigali in Kampala last week, told Times Sport that the club’s squad is pretty good enough to challenge in African competitions and hailed how supportive the club’s administration has been so far. “It’s a club that has quality players at its disposal. The players are motivated and the administration is doing their best to stay as close to them as possible,” Habarugira said. He noted that AS Kigali now have a number of attacking solutions in Aboubakar Lawal, Alex Orotomal, and Shabban Hussein Tchabalala, who have played an important role in pushing the club to the qualification round. Lawal has been involved in all goals that the club has scored in the CAF Confederations Cup so far, scoring two against Botswana’s Orapa United during the competition’s first round while he was fouled in the penalty area during last week’s second leg encounter against KCCA in Kampala, only for Muhadjiri Hakizimana to convert a decisive penalty that earned them a qualification. However, head coach Nshimiyimana has a tough task to improve his side in some departments, especially in midfield and defense. The club, Habarugira suggests, still needs two important additions into the squad including a playmaker who can feed the attack and create crucial chances leading to goals while they also need to fix miscommunication issues existing in the ‘leaky’ defense of Emery Bayisenge and Hassan Karera. “[Pierrot] Kwizera is yet to rediscover his form and that is affecting the strikers’ quest for goals because he is rarely reliable. The defense also committed a lot of mistakes that resulted in goals in Kampala,” he said. “But if the coach brings in a playmaker who can create chances in front of the opponents’ goal and build a compact partnership in defense ahead of CS Sfaxien’s encounter, I believe AS Kigali can go through to the group stages,” he added. But the stats aren’t impressive! AS Kigali has so far won only one game [1-0 against Orapa United] and suffered two defeats, including last week’s loss against KCCA. Those are the statistics that make many to worry about what the future offers for the Citizens when they face experienced CS Sfaxien next month. “They are not convincing yet but I hope the coach will fix the mistakes made by his players and improve his team before they take on CS Sfaxien,” said Habarugira, who said the club should start building around striker Muhadjiri Hakizimana if they are to progress to the group stages. Club President Fabrice Shema, is aware the club’s statistics are not quite impressive but is confident that they can fix the mistakes before facing CS Sfaxien. “We not only want to get through to the group stages but to qualify into the last eight. Many might think it is impossible but, if our players stay fit, I am confident we can do it,” said Shema. Rwandan clubs have a bad record against Tunisian sides in African club football competitions. APR FC were eliminated from the 2012 CAF Champions League after losing 3-2 an aggregate against Etoile du Sahel. The army side was also eliminated from the same stage in 2000 following a humiliating 10-0 defeat against Esperance de Tunis from both legs. In 2003, Espérance de Tunis also beat Rayon Sports 5-0 in the CAF Champion League first round in Tunis before drawing 2-2 in Kigali.