When Atraco FC was trashed 6-0 by El Merreikh in its first game in the recent Cecafa “Kagame” Cup, many feared that the club’s first participation in the tournament would not last long. Yet as we know now, they came back with a vengeance, and won the cup by beating their foes 1-0 in the final.

Coach Sam Timbe said that he was ecstatic with winning the trophy for the third time, and the first time for Atraco.

Atraco players arrive at Kigali Airport. (photo Timothy Kisambira)

He can now smile at the despair he felt after that first game. “I thought that we were done for after that heavy defeat,” Timbe admits, “but as I had experience with the cup I managed to rethink our strategy.”

He also attributes the bad start to lack of preparations. “We did not have enough preparations for the tournament because we were off-season, and some of our players had been called for national duty which also reduced the time to train as a team,” the coach explains.

Another setback was the disappearance of Kabagambe. “When he decided to walk away, most of the players did not like it; but as a team you always have to work together, so we put it off our minds and focused on the tournament.”

Also a major problem was the goalkeeping. “When you look at the goals we conceded, they were very stupid goals. Our first goalkeeper Jean Ndayishimiye was still on the national duty with Amavubi, but when he joined us later the goalkeeping problem was solved” Timbe says.

What makes this victory even sweeter for the coach is that they defeated El Merreikh at home. “If you win from the host, before their own crowd, it means a lot. First of all, the home team has all the support, the crowds are big and they all come out to cheer their team. What is more, Sudan is so hot, and their players are used to that.”

Pepper

Hamis Kitagenda, the top scorer who also scored the winner in the final, explains how he did it. only goal said that before he scored the first goal, he missed out a chance that hit the pole.

“Earlier in the game, I had a good chance but I hit the post. I felt bad, because this was the final so you don’t get many chances, yet it also motivated me to try harder. Besides, we were playing against a team that had given us a trashing, so in the dressing room we all prayed and said that we had to go out their and fight. So after missing that first chance, I was angry with myself, and when the other one came I did not wait to think, I just shot as hard as I could,” the striker recounts.

There was a slight problem before the match though, according to Kitagenda, because the food that they were given was awful.

“There was a lot of pepper in it, and surely if we had eaten it I don’t think we wouldn’t have won. I suspect they tried to play us a trick, but it didn’t work.”