APR FC won their 14th Peace Cup trophy with a convincing 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Rayon Sports in the final at Amahoro Stadium on Sunday, May 4.
Two first half goals from in-from Burkinabe forward Djibril Ouatarra and winger Gilbert Mugisha for the army side to lift their first Peace Cup trophy since 2017.
The atmosphere inside a fully-packed Amahoro Stadium was electrifying. The 45,000-seater edifice was filled to the brim as fans, clad in APR and Rayon colours, sparked deafening noise to cheer their side up.
APR had the first chance of the game as early as in the 2nd minute when Ouatarra was brought down by Omar Gning behind the penalty box. Referee Claude Ishimwe awarded the free kick but Clement Niyigenda thwarted Bosco Ruboneka’s cross.
Ouatarra found gave APR the lead just two minutes later after he stole the ball from Kevin Muhire, left Hakim Bugingo for dead and easily dribbled past Richard Ndayishimiye before hitting the ball past goalkeeper Patience Ndikuriyo from an acute angle to make it 1-0.
APR turned defense to attack in the 30th minute and their pressing successfully helped them double the lead. Denis Omedi cleared a corner from APR’s box and, in a quick counter attack, he found Ruboneka who squared the ball to an on-rushing Gilbert Mugisha who also made no mistake and finished off brilliantly to make it 2-0.
Rayon coach Claude Rwaka made his first substitution in the 32nd minute bringing on Olivier Niyonzima for Souleymane Daffe who looked far from his usual best.
APR used their flanks effectively with Ouatarra and Mugisha looking deadly anytime they had the ball. The Blues were lacking aggression in attack and their defense could have conceded even more goals if the referee had to add more minutes before both teams headed into the half time break.
At the start of the second half, Rwaka made the second change as Abdul Rahman Rukundo came in for Hadji Iraguha.
Niyigena nearly made it 3-0 in the 46th minute as his header from a Ruboneka corner just missed the post by inches.
There was a temporal hold up in the 55t minute following an injury to APR keeper Pierre Ishimwe. He saved a free kick from Abeddy Biramahire and got his chest stamped by Olivier Niyonzima as the midfielder tried to poke the rebound into the net. The game continued after he had received treatment.
Rayon brought on Adama Bagayogo for Aziz Bassane while APR also made their first substitution when Lamine Bah with Ramadhan Niyibizi. Mamadou Sy also came in for Ouatarra five minutes later as Darko Novic looked to add more bite in attack.
With two goals already in their favor, APR sat deep and tried to catch Rayon on the counters. And, surprisingly, iy was the army side which kept creating more clear scoring opportunities.
Dennis Omedi nearly gave APR the third goal through a powerful strike in the 80th minute but goalkeeper Ndikuriyo pulled a super save to keep the scores 2-0.
After the 90 minutes had elapsed, the fourth referee showed 5 minutes of additional time but Rayon barely did the right thing to turn the result around late on as APR held on to a convincing 2-0 win to lift the trophy they last won eight years ago.
The victory means APR FC will represent Rwanda in the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup only if they fail to win the Rwanda Premier League title.
Indahangarwa lift Women’s Peace Cup trophy
Elsewhere, Indahangarwa WFC shocked holders Rayon Sports WFC with a 4-2 victory in a highly entertaining Women’s Peace Cup final to win the trophy.
The game was laced with superb goals as the Kayonza District-based club caused a major upset on the women’s league champions.
