APR FC secured their first victory of the 2026 CECAFA Kagame Cup after beating Djibouti aspect Garde Républicaine FC 3-1 in a Group A match on Monday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the semifinals alive.
The Rwandan champions produced a dominant first-half show, with striker Djibril Ouattara scoring a brace in a win that introduced his aspect again in competition of a ticket to the match semifinals. The loss additionally noticed Garde Républicaine eradicated from the competitors.
After minutes of dominance, Ouattara broke the impasse within the thirty third minute, ending off a well-worked transfer to offer the house aspect the lead.
The Burkinabe ahead struck once more seven minutes later after receiving a exact move from William Togui Mel, calmly beating the goalkeeper within the fortieth minute.
APR continued to pile stress on the Djiboutian aspect and added a 3rd purpose simply earlier than halftime when Mamadou Traoré discovered the again of the web within the forty fifth minute.
The three-goal benefit mirrored APR's superiority within the opening half as they dominated possession and created a number of scoring alternatives.
Coming into the match on the again of a heavy 5-0 defeat to Kenyan aspect Gor Mahia, APR wanted an instantaneous response and delivered certainly one of their finest first-half performances of the match.
Nevertheless, the military aspect failed to keep up the identical attacking depth after the break.
Regardless of needing an even bigger profitable margin to spice up their purpose distinction, APR struggled to create clear possibilities within the second half and appeared content material to guard their lead.
Garde Républicaine grew into the sport and had been rewarded late on when Maarouf Abass Abaneh scored within the 88th minute, denying APR a clear sheet and lowering the ultimate rating to 3-1.
The victory earned APR their first three factors of the match and saved them in competition for a spot within the final 4.
Nevertheless, qualification stays a tough activity heading into the ultimate spherical of group-stage matches. The Rwandan champions should beat an unbeaten Vipers aspect by a considerably larger purpose margin whereas additionally hoping Gor Mahia fail to beat Garde Republicaine.
