Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

African Nations Cup: Drogba gets Ivorians off the mark

January 23, 2012 14:00 IST

Didier Drogba's talismanic qualities helped Ivory Coast make a winning, if not impressive, start to the African Nations Cup finals as he scored the only goal against a stubborn Sudan. With Angola, who beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in Sunday's other match in Malabo.

Click here for Rediff Realtime News!

DrogbaDrogba extended his scoring streak at the Nations Cup to a fourth successive tournament

The Ivorians, heavily favoured to take the continental title at the tournament co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, share the early lead in Group B, and took his overall tally to eight, with a 38th-minute header to leave Sudan empty-handed.

The Chelsea player was quick to admit the nature of the Ivorian triumph against a side ranked more than 100 places below them was anything but impressive.

"I'm just very happy we got the points," said the 33-year-old, whose role in the Ivorians' failure in the three previous tournaments to live up to their favourites tag has been extensively highlighted in the build-up to the latest edition.

"We did some things well and some things not so well, but the main thing was that we won the match."

On Monday, the newly-built stadium in Libreville is expected to be at its 45,000 capacity when co-hosts Gabon open their campaign against debutants Niger.

The first Group C match will be followed straight away by a mouth watering clash between Morocco and Tunisia, two past winners seeking to restore former glories.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.