Ndahinduka vows to solve Amavubi’s goal crisis

Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars have always come so close to winning big matches but more often than not, end up empty handed mainly due to a lack of enough goal scorers. Its not a secret that over the years, the national team has lacked a genuine goal scorer, in fact, other than Jimmy Gatete, who didn’t score that many at the international level and Olivier Karekezi, who holds the record with 25 goals as of February 2013, the country has been starved of goals.Labama Bokota came and shone briefly and since then, whoever has been handed the responsibility to lead the search for Amavubi goals, has either failed completely like Elias Uzamukunda or come short of the desired goals like Meddie Kagere.Then all of a sudden, there is the new kid on the block, Michel ‘Fils’ Ndahinduka, who has already got off the mark with a goal in two international games.The new APR signing from second division side Bugesera FC, first made history as the first player from the second tier league to play for his country in the 0-1 home defeat against Algeria in June, then got his first international goal in his second appearance.The 22-year-old said that after getting off the mark against Ethiopia exactly two weekends ago, he will continue working hard and to score more goals for the national team because he believes he has the ability to do it.Ndahinduka finished as the top scorer in second division league with 22 goals in 22 league matches as he led Bugesera to the final where they lost to Esperance FC. “After scoring the goal with the national team, I have faith that I can make a diference and it shows that in second division there are many players, who can do better,” the APR forward told Saturday Sport recently.He added, “With the support of my colleagues, I hope to score more goals for both APR and Amavubi, it’s my dream to play for the top club in the country and my country.”“I will continue to practice on my (scoring) skills and follow the coaches’ instructions as I continue to improve as a player and as a person. God willing, I will be able to become a better player as my career develops,” he explained.The former Unity FC player added, “I have been dreaming of playing at the high level and now I’m starting to realise it (dream), now. I want to continue doing well with my new team and with more experience am confident I will continue to score more goals as I have done in second division.”What others say about himNational team head coach Eric Nshimiyimana, who handed Ndahinduka his first taste of international football despite playing in the lower league, says the talented striker needs more help to be able to realise his full potential.“We need to give him time, it is only through playing many games which will help him to be a better player. There is no doubt about his potential and ability to score goals but he is still young and too inexperienced to be judged right now but with time and more experience, he could be the answer to our goals scoring problem,” said the former APR and Amavubi Stars skipper.He added, “I know he wants to make a difference and he is a player, who wants to improve himself so I hope he will be a good player for the future, he is already good but can become even better in the years to come. He just needs to stay focused and we will give him a chance to play in big games and will help him to settle in the team.”His former coach at Bugesera FC, Camalade Banamwana was full praise for the Amavubi striker.“He is a wonderful person on and off the field, I have been with him for long, He always gives everything in trainings and during matches, and I am very sure APR have signed a very good player,” he noted.“It is just a matter of playing many games, build on his confidence and he will become a top striker for the national team.”Banamwan added, “I know him very well, he’s a good striker and at APR he has the chance to become a much better player” because he has got what it takes to play alongside good players in the top league. He could go on to be among the best players in Rwanda.”APR coach Andreas Spier said, “He is good signing for us and we hope he will help the team to achieve its targets in the upcoming season.”