Kigali — It was the worst possible but inevitably expected start as Rwanda's Amavubi Stars launched their campaign in the Orange CAN 2012 qualifiers with a 3-0 loss to Ivory Coast in a Group H match played Saturday evening in Abidjan.
It took only nine minutes for the hosts to take the lead when Manchester City's recent signing on of Yaya Toure capitalized on a mixture of indecisive defending and nervousness in the visitor's central defensive partnership of Didir Kapet and Boubakary Saddou.
And eight minutes later, before Amavubi players had settled, Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou made the pair (Saddou and Kapet) look like real amateurs when he beat them to a loose ball to score the second past goalie a helpless Jean Luc Ndayishimiye in the Amavubi's goal.
With Lille's Gervinho and Kalou causing all sorts of problems for the shaken Sellas Tetteh's youthful side, Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue emerged from the midfield to slot in the third goal at the 38th minute. At this point, it was game over.
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With Amavubi Stars in a deficit of three goals by half-time, Tetteh introduced APR defender Ismail Nshutinamagara for the dreadful Saddou, who was at fault for all the three goals.
Under-performing Cyprus based midfielder Louis Aniweta was also replaced by Tumaine Ntamuhanga. Rayon Sports winger Jamal Mwiseneza came in for his club mate Jerome Sina and the trio made the difference, which was coupled with the fact that the Ivorians seemed to switch off in the second half.
Both Saddou and Aniweta proved reasons why Tetteh never wanted to rely on professional players in this qualifying campaign. The pair was the worst performers and it was no surprise that they were the first to be replaced when the coach deemed it necessary.
After the changes, Tetteh's team looked a lot more confident with and without the ball, playing better football and even created a few chances of their own as the second half progressed without much success.
APR's young winger Jean Claude Iranzi forced defender Copa Barry to make a last ditch stretch to bloke a goal-bound thunderbolt.
Skipper Haruna Niyonzima, who had a quiet first half for his standards, improved with the team in the second and had deficit but the Ivorian defence proved way too strong to breach.
Rwanda is seeking a second appearance at the Africa's biggest biennial football competition after making their debut in 2004 in Tunisia.
Elsewhere, neighbors Uganda outclassed Angola 3-0 in a wet Kampala yesterday in Group J. David Obua of Scottish club Hearts opened the scoring for the Ugandans at Mandela Stadium. Andrew Mwesigwa and Geoffrey Sserunkuma struck after half-time to seal the win for the home side.
2012 Nations Cup qualifier
Today
Group H
Benin vs Burundi
Saturday
Ivory Coast 3-0 Rwanda
Uganda 3-0 Angola
Botswana 2-1 Togo
Mauritius 1-3 Cameroon
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