Photo Courtesy: johnnymckinstry.com
Kigali, Rwanda, October 13: Rwanda national soccer team four defeats in a row has disappointed its coach, Johnny Mckinistry as his side has been failing to convert goal scoring opportunities in recent games despite dominating possession.
Kigali, Rwanda, October 13: Rwanda national soccer team four defeats in a row has disappointed its coach, Johnny Mckinistry as his side has been failing to convert goal scoring opportunities in recent games despite dominating possession.
Mckinistry voiced his concerns in reaction to his team 1-0 loss to Tunisia Under-23 in an international friendly that was played in Tunisia last Sunday.
“It is a frustrating result given the performance and the effort of the players, Tunisia had one shot on goal and they went 1-0 up from it.
“Apart from some free kicks they had that didn’t trouble our goalkeeper. We maintained our shape and kept them at bay,” he explained.
The latest loss to Tunisia was a fourth in the past three months for the Amavubi Stars who went down on the similar goal margin to Ghana, Gabon and Burkina Faso.
The common denominator in all these previous games was that Rwanda had been dominating on ball possession and even the encounter against Tunisia under 23 played in Rabat Morocco where Rwanda had set up a ten-day camp was not an exception.
He, observed that his side excellent performance during Sunday game was somehow undone when Faustin Usengimana was given marching orders after a second bookable offense
“At the other end we created some chances with their goalkeeper making two good saves in the first half to deny our forwards. So it was largely a very even game for the first 70.
“At that stage, however we went down to 10 men following Faustin Usengimana second yellow card,” he observed.
However, he conceded that though his side has been playing well and dominating in ball possession it was lacking killer punch upfront.
“It is clear that the killer instinct in-front of goal is the main ingredient we are lacking at the moment,” he said.
He also blamed the officiating team for regularly blowing the whistle on minor offenses which led to the yellow card and disrupted the rhythm of the game of his side.
“I thought the referees seemed to blow the whistle for everything .They don’t allow any contact at all for either team and I thought this disrupted the flow of the game and ultimately saw us go down to 10 men for nothing much at all,” he added.
Rwanda organized a ten-day camp in Morocco to prepare for World Cup qualifier against Libya in November and African National Championship tournament next year which the country will host from January 16- February 7.
“It is a frustrating result given the performance and the effort of the players, Tunisia had one shot on goal and they went 1-0 up from it.
“Apart from some free kicks they had that didn’t trouble our goalkeeper. We maintained our shape and kept them at bay,” he explained.
The latest loss to Tunisia was a fourth in the past three months for the Amavubi Stars who went down on the similar goal margin to Ghana, Gabon and Burkina Faso.
The common denominator in all these previous games was that Rwanda had been dominating on ball possession and even the encounter against Tunisia under 23 played in Rabat Morocco where Rwanda had set up a ten-day camp was not an exception.
He, observed that his side excellent performance during Sunday game was somehow undone when Faustin Usengimana was given marching orders after a second bookable offense
“At the other end we created some chances with their goalkeeper making two good saves in the first half to deny our forwards. So it was largely a very even game for the first 70.
“At that stage, however we went down to 10 men following Faustin Usengimana second yellow card,” he observed.
However, he conceded that though his side has been playing well and dominating in ball possession it was lacking killer punch upfront.
“It is clear that the killer instinct in-front of goal is the main ingredient we are lacking at the moment,” he said.
He also blamed the officiating team for regularly blowing the whistle on minor offenses which led to the yellow card and disrupted the rhythm of the game of his side.
“I thought the referees seemed to blow the whistle for everything .They don’t allow any contact at all for either team and I thought this disrupted the flow of the game and ultimately saw us go down to 10 men for nothing much at all,” he added.
Rwanda organized a ten-day camp in Morocco to prepare for World Cup qualifier against Libya in November and African National Championship tournament next year which the country will host from January 16- February 7.
By: Joel Chirwa
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