Nshimiyimana praises Amavubi players after 1-1 draw against Mali

2014 World Cup QualifiersSundayRwanda vs AlgeriaMali vs BeninHead coach Eric Nshimiyimana has hailed his team for sticking to his tactics as 10-man Rwanda held Mali to a one-all draw in the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier played on Sunday in Bamako.“I thank God for this result, it’s not worthy to take our team to the next qualification round but the spirit, determination and sacrifice exhibited by the players is something to be proud of,” Nshimiyimana said on Monday.He added, “We had chances to win the game especially before the sending off of Haruna (Niyonzima) in the second half which forced us to play deep.”“Playing 10 against 11 against an experienced team like Mali is never an easy task but we managed to limit them to a few chances. I can not blame anyone for Mali’s equaliser; it is a big learning curve for our younger players.”“We are happy with the result and I hope it will lift our confidence and morale going into the weekend home game against Algeria,” added Nshimiyimana, who took charge of his first international match as Amavubi Stars head coach since replacing Milutin Micho Sredojevic, who was sacked in April.Rwanda stunned Mali with a 34th minute lead through Police striker Meddie Kagere before the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medalist crawled back to snatch a late equalizer at Stade de 26 Mars in the capital Bamako.Tanzania’s Yanga midfielder Niyonzima was given his matching orders for a second bookable offence five minutes after the hour mark following an initial yellow card he received in the 16th minute.Eleven minutes after his dismissal, Mali equalised through defender Mahamadou N’diaye of Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes.And the draw left Mali, on seven points, trailing leaders Algeria by two points after the North Africa side won 3-1 in Benin. The draw is a big blow for Mali, who are still reeling following the departure of Patrice Carteron, who left last month to take up DR Congo side TP Mazembe.Amavubi arrived in the country in the wee hours of Tuesday and headed straight to camp in Rubavu to start preparations for the next qualifier against Algeria on Sunday in Kigali.

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Nshimiyimana praises Amavubi players after 1-1 draw against Mali