Winger Mohamadou Lamine Bah scored fabulous drive on the stroke of half time as APR defeated Gasogi United 1-0 at the Kigali Pele Stadium on Sunday, in a rescheduled game. It was Darko Novic’s first league win since taking charge as club new head coach in June. The game started from the 15th minute after it was abandoned on Saturday, October 19 due to the torrential downpour. The first clear chance of the game went to Gasogi in the 25th minute though APR had dominated possession. Hamis Hakim raced towards the goal but Clement Niyigena made a timely tackle to clear the ball. Victor Mbaoma, who was leading APR’s attack, pounced on goal mouth melee but his strike missed the post in the 28th minute. Gasogi resorted to being physical on their opposing players with their skipper Akbar Muderi being the worst culprit. ALSO READ: Photos: APR FC vs Gasogi game called off due to rain Seidu Dauda went on a solo run under pressure from three Gasogi players; he sent in a dangerous cross but Lamptey's connection missed the post by a whisker in the 38th minute. Gasogi made a quick transition from defense to attack in the 40th minute, Alioum Souane brought down Dany Niyongira near the APR penalty box but the visitors wasted the free kick. Lamine Bah broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute with a fabulous strike inside the box after receiving a pass from Claude Niyomugabo. The Malian winger’s goal put the military side ahead before both teams headed into halftime break. APR, who had Richmond Lamptey masterminding the game from midfield, returned to action in the second half dominating possession as the Ghanaian dictated the pace of the game with both long and short passes early in the second half. Gasogi United coach Bienvenu Ghislain brought on Theodor Malipangou and Serge Kabanda in the 60th minute for Dany Niyongira and Joseph Mugisha respectively as he looked to beef up his attack. Novic also made brought on Olivier Dushimimana for Lamine Bah in the 70th minute to add more bite to the APR attack. The Serbian again replaced Arsene Tuyisenge 10 minutes later to give some playing minutes to Gilbert Mugisha after the former looked less effective on the left flank. Novic needed someone capable of taking on Gasogi defenders and Gilbert fulfilled his duty, preventing the visitors from moving forward. Both teams could not penetrate each other’s defense which remained resolute with excellent piece of defending. Lamptey made way for Ramadan Niyibizi in the 89th minute as Novic opted for a front three of Mbaoma, Dushimimana and Mugisha. There was five minutes of injury time which Gasogi used to force an equalizer but APR held on to win the game 1-0 and register their first win of the topflight league season after their opening match against Etincelles ended in a goalless draw.
