Rwanda put up a spirited performance on Wednesday, March 22, as they earned a point against the Cheetahs of Benin at the Stade de l’Amitie in Cotonou in a crucial AFCON 2023 Group L qualifying encounter.
Amavubi showed their mettle despite playing 30 minutes of the second half with a man down.
Rwanda took an early lead through Gilbert Mugisha in the 12th minute but the hosts restored parity in the 82nd minute through Steve Moubie after Hakim Sahabo had been sent off after he was shown a second yellow card in the 60th minute.
The game started on a good note as both teams showed tactical efficiency with good ball possession.
Carlos Alos Ferrer’s side, which was playing a 4:3:3 formation, seized the midfield with the likes of Djihad Bizimana, Rafael York and teenager Hakim Sahabo in full force.
APR striker Gilbert Mugisha broke the deadlock in the 12th minute after he was beautifully set up by Hakim Sahabo through a 30-yard pass.
The Lille wonder kid showed a high-level individual brilliance as he turned inside the centre circle and found Mugisha who was already on the run with an extraordinary pass. The attacker’s first effort was not strong enough to go in but he had a second bite of the cherry as he got the ball again and placed it into the net for the opener.
Gernot Rohr’s Benin side nearly responded with a quick equalizer just two minutes later but Goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari tipped Cedric Houtoundji’s thunderbolt free kick over the crossbar to the relief of the Amavubi bench.
Bizimana, who sat in front of the Amavubi back four, did all the dirty work and went in for the crunch tackles. He escaped a yellow card in the 29th minute for a cynical tackle on Junior Olaitan.
Omborenga Fitina became the savior of the Amavubi in the 31st minute after he cleared Steve Mounie’s goal bound effort with a superb scissor kick.
Sahabo, who was the most dangerous player for the visitors, found acres of space again in the middle and located Gilbert Mugisha with another sumptuous pass but the forward had a crunching coalition with Benin goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbe as he raced towards goal and the chance was missed.
It was an end to end battle as Benin also launched two attacks in the 37th and 38th minute but both were saved by Ntwari who was having a remarkable day on the pitch.
Referee Joshua Bondo blew his whistle for the end of the first half with Rwanda leading 1-0 after four additional minutes were added on.
Rwanda were forced to make a change in the 52nd minute as Emmanuel Imanishimwe, who appeared to have had a knock, was replaced by Christian Ishimwe.
Coach Ferrer pushed more men upfront as they needed a second goal but it instead weakened the midfield.
Sahabo, who was the star of the day, was shown a second bookable offense in the 60th minute in what looked to be an avoidable red card. The youngster decided to hold the hand and pulled Benin midfielder Olivier Verdon when the player had the ball though he was going nowhere and there was no danger at hand.
The youngster’s dismissal was a real blow for Rwanda as Benin got more room to operate.
Ferrer brought on Bonheur Mugisha for Gilbert Mugisha in the 75th minute to solidify the midfield but it yielded no dividends as the Benin attackers kept pushing forward.
It took excellent defending from Ange Mutsinzi, Thierry Manzi and Omborenga Fitina as well as fantastic saves from Ntwari to deny Benin the equalizer.
With the numerical advantage, Benin finally had the equalizer in the 82nd minute through striker Steve Mounie.
The final eight minutes of regulation time and the six minutes of time added on saw Amavubi defending gallantly and held on to grab a draw as the game ended 1-1.
With the result, the table remains unchanged as Rwanda keeps third place with two points with Benin remaining at the bottom of the table. Senegal lead the group with six points before they face second-placed Mozambique on Friday, March 24.
Rwanda could play their return leg against Benin slated for March 27 in Cotonou after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that Huye Stadium is not qualified yet to host the AFCON qualifiers due to substandard hotels.
However, the local football governing body (Ferwafa) told Times Sport on Tuesday that they will file an appeal to challenge CAF’s decision.
