CAF CONFEDERATION CUP: AS Kigali’s Nshimiyimana says players must improve

The head coach of Rwanda Premier League side AS Kigali, Eric Nshimiyimana has said his team must improve ahead of the play-off in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Despite losing 3-1 to KCCA FC in Uganda on Wednesday, the Rwanda side qualified for the next round on an away goal rule. AS Kigali were awarded a 2-0 win in the first leg by CAF after KCCA FC failed to raise a full team after some players tested positive for COVID-19.

“We did not play well against KCCA FC and were lucky to qualify. We need to improve ahead of the play-off stage because we shall face a team that has dropped from the CAF Champions League,” added the former Rwandan international.

Nshimiyimana made it clear that the players need to know that there is a lot at stake and they must be at their best in the next round. “We need to triple our efforts because the next stage is the last one before qualifying for the group stage,” he added.

AS Kigali ejected Botswana’s Orapa United in the first round of the preliminary before facing KCCA FC who got a bye to the next stage.

Besides AS Kigali and Tanzania’s Namungo FC (all from the Cecafa Zone) who qualified for the play-off stage in the CAF Confederation Cup, Al Amal Atbara from Sudan were eliminated by Burkina Faso’s Salitas.