Rayon Sports came from behind twice to hold Kenyan champions Gor Mahia 2-2 in their first Group B match at the 41st CECAFA Kagame Cup campaign in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Rwanda international Jacques Tuyisenge opened the scoring for Gor Mahia in the 33rd minute before Humprey Mieno doubled the lead for the Kenyans seven minutes to go into second half with a 2-0 emphatic lead
However, it was short-lived as Rayon Sports’ Malian striker Ismaila Diarra pulled one back in the 64th minute before skipper Pierrot Kwizera netted an equalizer three minutes to stoppage time.
The 1998 Cecafa Kagame Cup winners, Rayon Sports will be back in action on Tuesday (tomorrow) against Djibouti’s Ports while Gor Mahia will be up against Lydia Ludic of Burundi.
APR take on Simba in search for first win
Three-time Cecafa champions APR will have a mountain to climb when they face Tanzanian champions Simba SC this afternoon as they battle to avoid early exit from the tournament. The military side lost their opening match, 2-1, to Singida United last Friday.
Singida collected the three crucial points courtesy of goals from Habib Kyombo and Tibar John in either half, both resulting from goalkeeping blunders of first choice goalie Yves Kimenyi and his second-half replacement Steven Ntalibi.
Centre-back Aimable Nsabimana scored the consolation goal in the dying seconds of the game, a goal which could not earn anything for the Serbian Coach Ljubomir ’Ljupko’ Petrovic.
Going into the second game at Dar es Salaam National Stadium today, APR will need to be on top of their game to defy odds against a confident and well-organized home side – Simba SC.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost the first game, we have to do better on Monday (today) and fight for a positive result. We must go into the game with a positive mindset and determination to win at all cost,” said Petrovic.
He further added that, “We’ll need total focus and give ourselves a chance and (hopefully) score more than one goal.”
In their opening game, Simba hammered minnows Dakadaha of Somalia 4-0 at Uhuru Stadium.
The best two clubs from each of the three four-team groups and the two best losers will qualify for the knock out stages, beginning with quarter-finals.
The CECAFA Kagame Club Tournament which returns after a three-year break has attracted 12 teams from the East and Central Africa region.
The last edition in 2015 was staged in Tanzania, with local side Azam beating Gor Mahia of Kenya 2-0 in the final, setting a tournament record of not conceding a goal en route to the title.
Monday
Group C
Singida vs Dakadaha
Simba vs APR
Sunday
Group B
Gor Mahia 2-2 Rayon Sports
Additional reporting Rwanda Times
