Police advance to Heroes Cup final after penalty shootout victory over Rayon Sports

Goalkeeper Patience Niyongira delivered a heroic performance during the penalty shootout as Police won 3-1 on penalties over Rayon Sports on Tuesday night.

Both teams levelled 1-1 during regular time in a tense showdown at Kigali Pele Stadium.

Hadji Iraguha put Rayon Sports in front in the 18th minute after Police goalkeeper Patience Niyongira made a blunder.

Both teams created several scoring chances, but Rayon Sports had a big one missed in the 44th minute when Niyongira cleared Adama Bagayogo's header off the line.

Henry Msanga equalised for Police on the stroke of half-time with a fine header as the two sides went to the break with a 1-1 tie.

It was neck and neck in the second half, leaving the fans on the edge of their seats, although no team managed to break the deadlock.

Rayon Sports goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye was sent off in the 77th minute after punching Police's Lague Byiringiro in the face.

Three Rayon Sports players, Youssou Diagne, Omar Gning, and Aziz Bassan, failed from the spot during shootouts, with Ally Serumogo being the only one to score his penalty for Robertinho's side.

Meanwhile, only Muhadjiri Hakizimana missed the penalty for Vincent Mashami's side, with Allan Katerega, Ani Elijah, and Didier Mugisha all converting their penalties.

The reigning champions reached the final and will face APR, who they beat 2-1 in the final of the 2024 edition.

Heroes Cup is a competition contested by the top four teams in the current Rwanda Premier League season to celebrate Rwanda’s National Heroes Day, which is annually commemorated on February 1.

Photo: Hadji Iraguha, who scored for Rayon Sports, attempts to dribble past Police players.

Photo: Youssou Diagnes looks disappointed after missing his penalty during the shootouts.

Photo: Rayon Sports players rush to console Aziz Bassane, who missed his side's fourth penalty that saw them eliminated.

Photo: Lague Byiringiro enjoys Police's penalty shootout win.

Photo: Patience Niyongira was shown love by his mates.

Photo: Rayon Sports players and staff applaud their fans after the match.