Rayon storm into Cecafa quarters

YesterdayAwassa City 0-2 Rayon Sport Yanga 1-0 Miembeni TodayTusker v Benadir, 1pm (Dar es Salaam) Simba v Vital’O 3pm (Dar) MOROGORO - Rwanda’s second representative in the on going Cecefa/Kagame Cup, Rayon Sport booked their place in the quarter-finals after beating Ethiopia’s Awassa 2-0 in a match played last evening at Jamhuri Stadium, Morogoro. Awassa conceded the first goal in the 16th minute when Rayon skipper Jean Lomami netted from Abul Umimana’s cross. The Ethiopians, who needed at least a draw to head into the last eight, almost pulled level but Rayon had goalkeeper Vladimir Niyonkuru to thank for having kept them in the tournament. The Burundian international made several important saves to keep the rampant Ethiopians at bay. Late in the second half, Rayon coach Raoul Shungu made an important substitution when he took off the ineffective Jimmy Gatete for Roger Tuyisenge. And it the former APR and Marine player, who was at hand to set up Kalisa Kase for Rayon’s second after a one-two exchange with Lomami. Rayon will now face Simba or Tusker in the quarter-finals that start on Tuesday. Today in group A, Simba plays Burundi’s Vital’o while Tusker tussle it out with Benadir in Dar-es-salaam for the three quarter-final places up for grabs in this group. Both Rayon and Awassa City went into the game seeking to join URA from this group into the quarter-finals. “We have finished the hard task; we have enough time to rest and train for the quarter-finals against any one,” an excited Shungu said after the game. Rayon lost their first game to URA 4-1 while Awassa held the 2007 losing finalists 1-1 on Wednesday. Rayon’s win also meant that defending champions APR progress to the knockout stage as best losers. The battle in Group A has been fiercely fought with all the four teams, Simba, Tusker, Vital’O and Benadir tied on three points each after playing two matches. Ends