APR FC head coach Darko Novic admits Mukura Victory Sports were a hard nut to crack despite his side managing to come from behind to complete a 4-2 win on Saturday, December 14, at Kigali Pele Stadium. Ghanaian duo Abdul Jalilu and Boateng Mensah scored in the space of six minutes as Mukura took a 2-0 lead inside 23 minutes but Novic’s men fought back to score four goals in a dramatic comeback win that saw them climb to second place on the league table with 25 points. The Serbian gaffer mentioned that Mukura gave his side a difficult time and he will commend his players for a good job done. ALSO READ: Kwitonda scores thunderbolt in APR comeback against Mukura It was a tough game today; some will criticize but I will give praise to my players for the victory. Novic told the press after the match. We didn't start well. We had lots of problems with simple passes, simple combination. We were not aggressive, I know why it happened, we have played so many games in December. I know my players cannot become fresh in every game.” Novic admits, “We made two mistakes and the opponent scored two goals in the first 25 minutes but we had character and we came back strongly in the second half. The Serbian coach lauded two of his substitutes Alain Kwitonda Bacca who netted a superb long range shot as well as Bosco Ruboneka who provided the assist for Arsene Tuyisenge's equalizer. Bacca deserves to get more minutes. He has started to be serious and he is now performing. Ruboneka also changed the game for us. I wanted us to be more offensive so I took Taddeo out for him. He came to speed up our game, he said. Concerning why he is playing winger Arsene Tuyisenge as a striker, Novic emphasized that he isn't concerned with what people say since the former Rayon Sports player is “the best” in that position for now. Arsene (Tuyisenge) is performing, I don't care what people say. Now, he is our main striker, he has the spirit, behavior, character and his approach are good. Even if he doesn't score, I don't care, he explained.
