If you ever thought of nail-biting matches in the Rwandan Premier League, one between Gasogi United and Kiyovu Sports would be one!
In a game of day 4 in the Rwandan Premier League that saw the two teams tie to a 1-1 draw at Kigali Pele Stadium on Friday, 15th September 2023 (formerly Kigali Regional Stadium), at 1900hrs with unpleasant attendance of fans.
Prior to the game, a one Charles Kakooza (KNC), Gasogi United’s President had spoken about this nail-biting game by humiliating the rivals.
“Kiyovu is a bad situation that every sportsperson would see! But that’s not our concern, and we are not responsible for sympathising with them (Kiyovu)”, said KNC.
“We have to do everything to defeat them, it’s not a secret, I don’t like Kiyovu Sports and neither do they like us. I have no problem with their management but I just don’t like the team!”, He added.
A match that saw Kiyovu’s Head coach Petros Koukouras (former coach for Uganda’s SC Villa) put on pressure after suffering a 4-0 defeat to Bugesera FC previously, whilst his counterpart, Alain Kirasa (Gasogi) had won two games and lost only to giant Rayon Sports at the League’s opening day.
Kiyovu Sports convincingly dominated the game and on the 54th minute, a one Mugunga Yves had rescued the lead for Kiyovu making it his first goal with the team after leaving Rwandan giant APR FC this season. It took Central African 21 year old Christian Theodor Yawanendji-Malipangou only 10 minutes to respond by scoring an equalizer for Gasogi United.
Both Petros and Kirasa tried to make changes in hope of seeking victory but all was in vain, making the teams share points.
This saw officials from both sides make strong statements after the match.
Kiyovu’s Sports Association, Ndorimana Jean Francois Regis alias “Generale” expressed his displeasure on how the game went, mentioning that the final whistle was not fair!
“I and KNC have some disagreements because we have teams we lead. He also knows that they have no capacity to beat Kiyovu”, He said.
He further expressed how he wasn’t happy with the way the referee controlled the game that was not in their favour.
“How would the referee end the game while Kiyovu is going to have a goal kick?”, he added.
After expressing his feelings, Gasogi’s President, KNC, retracted on what he had said before the game, adding that Kiyovu Sports was a small team.
“I am unhappy, but I am happy for Kiyovu Sports who made history by drawing again against us. Coach Petros Koukouras did everything to rescue points from us but he couldn’t!”, said KNC.
This is not the first time the two teams’ mangements clashing, as KNC was once banned from the stadium after making comments that claimed some managers “sold games”.
