Haringingo rues wasted chances as Police loss leaves Rayon’s title hopes in tatters

Rayon Sports head coach Francis Christian Haringingo has said that his side had only themselves to blame after they missed a number of chances with Saturday’s 4-2 shock defeat to Police at Muhanga Stadium putting their race for the Rwanda Premier League title in serious jeopardy. Rayon, who played the entire second half with a man down after goalkeeper Adolphe Hakizimana was sent off in the 37th minute, and Police were 2-2 level before substitutes Aimé Ntirushwa and Jean-Bosco Kayitaba scored late inside 10 minutes before full time to help the law enforcers cement a 4-2 victory over 10-man Rayon Sports. Haringingo was furious with his players who, he claimed, missed a couple of chances that could have changed the game in the second half and won the game only to let Police grab a win in front of hundreds of Rayon’s supporters in Muhanga. We were not aggressive enough in front of goal despite creating many chances. We played like we didn't want to. We need to work hard and improve. We had so many chances and should have scored twice or three times, but we were very poor in front of goal,” a visibly disappointed Haringingo said. “We tried our best to win the game, we created chances but we failed to execute them despite the fact that our opponents played better in defense and used their chances well. But on our side, players were not sharp in front of goal and we were simply unlucky, nothing else,” the Burundian gaffer added. Meanwhile, Police coach Vincent Mashami hailed his men for putting up a spirited performance against a Blues side which had an upper hand on the game with a home advantage. “We showed some good spirit in the second half and scored two goals which won us the game and that’s what I wanted and overall we were the better side and we’re delighted for the win. Credit to my players for delivering a great performance. I am happy for their work and the character they showed against Rayon,” Mashami said. The victory moved Police to fifth place in the table with 39 points while AS Kigali are fourth with 42 points. Rayon remained third with 46 points, three behind leaders APR who could open a four-point lead should they beat Bugesera on Sunday.