Amavubi players seen against Cote d’Ivoire last month will be aiming to stage a home victory against Guinea next week after losing the first leg tie 2-0 in Conakry on Friday night.
Rwanda’s national team, Amavubi have put focus on the return leg against Guinea after succumbing to a 2-0 loss in the third match of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group H qualifier staged on Friday night at Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry.
Francois Kamano and Ibrahima Cisse found the back of the net for hosts who recorded a third successive victory, following wins over the Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic to edge closer to booking their ticket to Cameroon.
The Syli Nationale hit the front in the 36th minute through Kamano who converted from the spot after Rwatubabye Abdul fouled Liverpool’s Naby Keita inside the area.
Cisse doubled Guinea’s lead in the 73rd minute, but it wasn’t all smooth saving for Guinea who conceded a penalty themselves late on.
Jacques Tuyisenge, though, was denied by the Guinean goalkeeper as the hosts duly held on for all three points.
Amavubi head coach Mashami Vincent said after the first leg tie on Friday night, “We had control of the game but conceded due to mistakes. Guinea is a strong team with excellent players and it was really hard playing in front of their fans but I am happy with the response from my players. The team is improving drastically and I believe we are heading into the right direction though we seem to be out of contention for a place in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign,”
“We have shifted our focus to the return leg on Tuesday and we will try to maintain our playing style and hopefully, we will deliver a positive result behind our home supporters,” added Mashami.
Guinea duly retains their three point gap atop Group H ahead of the reverse fixture in Kigali on Tuesday while Rwanda is bottom of the standings with no point.
Meanwhile, Guinea arrived in Kigali City on Saturday morning ahead of their return leg against Rwanda. The team is staying at Marriot Hotel.
In another Group H encounter played on Friday night, Ivory Coast overcame Central African Republic (CAR) 4-0 at the Stade Bouake in Bouake on Friday.
The Elephants were eyeing their second successive win in Group H having defeated Rwanda 2-1 away last month.
While the Wild Beasts were looking to return to winning ways in their qualifying campaign having lost 1-0 to Guinea away.
The hosts got off to the perfect start as they grabbed an early goal through England-based striker Jonathan Kodija three minutes into the encounter.
The Aston Villa forward beat CAR goalkeeper Geoffrey Lembet to make it 1-0 to Ivory Coast much to the delight of the home crowd.
Spain-based midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia worked tirelessly in midfield for visitors as they looked to level matters in the first-half.
However, Ivory Coast was able to hold on to their lead and they were leading 1-0 at half-time.
A second-half which was dominated by the Elephants followed as Eric Bailly scored eight minutes after the restart to make it 2-0 to Ivory Coast.
It was soon 3-0 to Ivory Coast with Cheick Doukoure beating Lembet as the hosts continued their dominance over the Wild Beasts.
Maxwel Cornet, who is a former France youth international, put his name on the scoresheet with the CAR defence exposed.
The Olympique Lyonnais forward sealed Ivory Coast’s 4-0 victory over CAR when he scored with 15 minutes left on the clock.
The win saw the Elephants remain second on the group table, while the Wild Beasts also remained third on the standings.
Friday Group H Results
First Leg
Guinea 2-0 Rwanda
Ivory Coast 4-0 CAR
Return Leg,
Tuesday, 16th October 2018
Rwanda vs Guinea
CAR vs Cote d’Ivoire
Group H Standings
Guinée-9 pts
Cote d’ivoire-6 pts
Centrafrique-3 pts
Rwanda-0 pt
