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Football: Fifa World Cup Qatar Qualifiers 2022 |06 September 2019

Football: Fifa World Cup Qatar Qualifiers 2022

Rwandan Nuhadjiri Hakkizimana (no. 10) scored his team’s first goal

Seychelles lose 0-3 to Rwanda

 

Rwanda got two first half goals and one in the second to secure a 3-0 win against hosts Seychelles in the preliminary round of the Fifa World Cup Qatar Qualifiers 2022.

The first leg match was played yesterday, starting at 4pm, at Stad Linite, and was watched by a few supporters including the Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change (MEECC) Wallace Cosgrow, the chairman of the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) Elvis Chetty and other officials from MEECC, SFF and from Rwanda.

Under new Dutch coach Jan Mak, the Seychelles team comprised a number of new faces and some players who represented the country at the recent Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Mauritius in July. They only had a few days of training sessions together prior to this match.

The Rwandans were in total control of yesterday’s match. They were physically fitter and more comfortable on the ball and were largely in front in terms of possession. On the other hand, the Seychelles side lacked organisation and team work as they lost the ball too easily and had a lot of chasing and defending to do.

After a couple of earlier missed chances, the Rwandans showed their intentions in the 31st minute after Seychelles failed to clear a corner. The ball rolled to Nuhadjiri Hakkizimana who was a few metres away from the goal and his low first time shot beat goalkeeper Romeo Barra in the left corner for 1-0 lead.

The Rwandans nearly made it 2-0 seconds later but Medie Kagere saw his shot go straight into the hands of goalkeeper Barra. Seychelles’ only clear chance in this half came in the 34th minute through a free kick by Rendy Emile but Rwandan goalkeeper Yves Kimenyi dived to his left to push the ball away.

The first goal looked to have disorganised the Seychelles team and the Rwandans took advantage to create a number of opportunities and their pressure paid off in the 35th minute when the unmarked Yannick Mukunti was first to react to Hakkizimana’s corner kick to send the ball into goalkeeper Barra’s goal for a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Seychelles brought on Brandon Labrosse in the 55th minute to play on the left wing and their game improved a little as he was able to play ball in attack a few times. But the Seychelles team’s pressure was short-lived as the Rwandans regained control of the game to mount attacks after attacks.

In the 76th minute, Mukunti nearly scored his second goal only to be denied by the crossbar.

The Rwandans sealed the victory in the 79th minute through Kagere who beat Seychelles’ 18-year-old central defender Stan Esther to place a ball lowly past goalkeeper Barra for Rwanda to win 3-0.

 

What the coaches said:

 

Seychelles coach Jan Mak: “I am absolutely not disappointed. I think the players had a good game if you consider the circumstances and the selection we have. We made some mistakes leading to both the first and second goals otherwise we could have kept a clean sheet in the first half. In my opinion, the third goal is a clear offside situation. The Rwandans are a good team. Of course we are not happy with the result but taking into account the circumstances we see ourselves in, I am very happy.”

 

Rwanda coach Vincent Masihami: “I am very happy with the performance and the result, but we were a bit nervous in the first 15 minutes because we didn’t know our opponents, but my boys managed to pick up quickly and the result speaks for itself. We expected the stadium to be full of fans but to our luck maybe, the stadium was empty and it was easier for us to play under no pressure. It is not over yet, we still have a second leg match and we will stay focus as anything can happen in football.”

 

The Seychelles team: Romeo Barra, Oliver Bonté, Adrian Constance, Michel Souris, Stan Esther, Keren Sinon, Senky Vidot, Dean Mothé (Josip Ravignia in the 71st minute), Gerick Vidot (Noris Bibi in the 64th minute), Rendy Emile (Brandon Labrosse in the 55th minute), Darrel Damoo

 

Officials: Belay Tadesse (referee), Kindie Mussie and Tigle Balachew (assistant referees) from Ethiopia

 

P. J.

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