AS Kigali’s Mateso revels in Super Cup triumph

AS Kigali assistant coach Jean de Dieu Mateso paid tribute to his players for a “sterling performance” after winning the inaugural Super Cup title on Sunday that gave the City of Kigali side their second trophy in 2013.AS Kigali stunned Primus League champions Rayon Sports 1-0 with striker Bodo Ndikumana scoring the lone goal on 30 minutes.Mateso, a former player with several clubs including Kiyovu SC and Rayon Sport, was standing in for head coach Andrew Gasambugo, who, along with the goalkeeping coach Thomas Higiro, is on duty with the U-20 team which is preparing to compete in the forthcoming Francophone Games in Nice, France.Mateso guided his boys to surprise victory against a team he once played for which is now in the hands of the more illustrious Didier Gomez da Rosa.AS Kigali showed intentions to flex muscles with the country’s best when they won the Peace Cup against Malaria tournament earlier in the year.“The whole team was excellent and I am grateful for a job well done, we were determined to win this cup and thankfully we achieved our goal,” he told Times Sport.He added, “I’m happy with the performance of my team and want to congratulate my players for the effort each one of them put in to make our dream come true.”Rayon Sport head coach Gomez said the defeat exposed the weak areas in his team, adding that he needs to bring in new faces during the transfer market before the new season starts.“We are disappointed because we really needed to win this title but we failed, we need to work hard in order to be on top form before start of the season. Nonetheless, I must congratulate AS Kigali for the win,” noted the Frenchman.The 2013/14 National Football League gets underway on September 21.The match was sponsored by Babil Group of Companies (Babilaks Construction Limited), a Turkish construction firm.AS Kigali, who will represent Rwanda in next year’s Africa Confederation Cup, walked away with Rwf5 million, while Rayon Sports bagged Rwf2 million.