APR FC could not make it through to the group stage of the 2024/25 CAF Champions League after Pyramids brought their journey to a shocking end in Cairo on Saturday, September 21 despite a spirited performance.
The army side was bundled out of the competition on a 4-2 aggregate loss across two legs after the Egyptians came from behind to beat them 3-1 at June 30 Stadium in the second leg.
The pair had played out a 1-1 draw in Kigali a week before but APR had a failed mission when could barely beat the Northern African curse.
Times Sport takes a look at four key learning lessons the Rwandan champions should pick from their Champions League exit.
APR need a safer pair of hands
To excel in African club competitions, it is not only about the outfield players. Goalkeepers also play a key role and we have seen clubs whose keepers aided them to win continental trophies over the years. Hearts of Oak won the CAF Champions League in 2000 thanks to the exploits of their legendary goalkeeper Sammy Adjei.
It is now becoming clearer that APR need an exceptional goalkeeper who can save the team in difficult times. In eight continental games that Congolese goalkeeper Pavelh Ndzila played since the 2023/24 season, he conceded 12 goals and kept just three clean sheets.
Ndzila may be good in the domestic league, but conceding 10 goals in four away games in Africa is not working in APR's favour at all. The club needs another experienced goalkeeper to challenge Ndzila. He has to prove himself in Africa club competitions if he is really good.
APR will only get better
The likes of midfield dynamo Seidu Dauda Yussif, Lamine Bah, Mamadou Sy, Richmond Lamptey and other foreign players that APR bought during the June-August transfer window, are having their impact at the club noticed.
From a 6-1 humiliating defeat to Pyramids FC in 2023 to falling short in a hard fought 4-2 defeat at the hands of the same opponent, APR may be struggling to realise their CAF Champions League group stage qualification but their performance is quite encouraging.
APR is gradually performing and, if they stay patient one more time, it won't take long for them to rub shoulders with the big teams on the continent. They just need to fill some key positions in the team and they are good to go.
APR must turn their home ground a fortress
APR should make their home a no go area for visiting teams when it comes to continental games.
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Be it at Amahoro Stadium or Kigali Pele Stadium, they must build a hostile atmosphere that prove too difficult for away teams to cope with. Every home game in Kigali should be a win and they are capable of making it a routine just like Northern African teams and other elite clubs do.
A different story would have been told by now if APR had capitalised their scoring chances they got against Pyramids at Amahoro Stadium and, either way, avoided conceding a late equalizer in the first leg.
Avoid unnecessary panicking
In future continental games, especially against North African teams, APR players should not panic. If the problem is also from tactical errors, Darko Novic is the right person to adjust it.
In the two legs against Pyramids FC, APR scored first, controlled the game for 30 minutes before the opponent would fight back.
At the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on September 14, Mohammed Chibi bundled the ball into his own net in the 50th minute after incessant pressure. But panic caused havoc in the APR defense and Fiston Mayele made them pay the price when he leveled the scores for Pyramids in the 83rd minute.
Again in the return fixture in Cairo on September 21, Novic's side scored inside 11 minutes of the game. They were on the driving seat before Mohammed Chibi equalied in the 45th minute.
The home side scored two more goals in the second half to win the day.
Allowing an opponent to twice come back and cancel the scores is a sign of unnecessary panicking, poor tactical errors as well as giving the opponent too much respect on the field of play, which the army side should stop in the coming occasions.
