Cote D’Ivoire 3-0 Rwanda: Didier Drogba-Less Elephants Easily Crush Rwanda

The Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire defeated the Amavubi of Rwanda 3-0 in Group H of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Saturday at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.

Cote D’Ivoire are used to Rwanda, having played a number of qualifying matches and friendlies together, with the Elephants always getting the upper hand. But Cote D’Ivoire, minus former captain Didier Drogba, approached today’s match with utmost seriousness like they were confronting a big team for big stakes.

At the blast of the whistle, the Ivorian star-studded formation pounced on the Rwandans led by enigmatic Ghanaian-born coach Sellas Tetteh, with the visitors retreating to their back half for cover. Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue, free from marking on the left flank, carefully carved a cross which connected with Manchester City’s Yaya Touré who slotted home a low short that found the back of Rwanda’s net in the 12th minute.

The pressure poured on Rwanda, who in no time were able to withstand the Elephants, whether collectively or individually. In the 21st minute, former Valenciennes left back Siaka Tiéné, who now plays for PSG, powered a slice cross to Chelsea’s attacker Salomon Kalou who was waiting on the spot in Rwanda’ area. He lobbed in a ball to the left past the Rwandan ‘keeper, scoring the second goal.

The match turned a bit monotonous with less opposition from Rwanda who camped in their half trying to buck the dribbles, the neat passes, the muscling and the bullet shots from the determined Elephants.

Eboué, who had perfectly powered the Ivorian midfield till now, cracked a wide shot from 25 yard with little attention, but it blew into the net leaving the ‘keeper stretching in vain to give the hosts a 3-0 lead after just in the 39 minutes.

The second half kicked-off with the Ivorians hunting for more goals But after the substitution of Sevilla’s Koffi Ndri Romaric with Guéi Guéi Abraham who was playing with the national team for the first time and announced to take centre forward in the absence of Didier Drogba, the Rwandans began to recover from their slumber and timidity, mounting to menace the Ivorian back-line.

By the midway stage, the game fell well into a balanced tangle, with the visitors marking out the likes of Gervinho, Kalou and Eboué. From the side bench, Cote D’Ivoire’s new coach François Zahoui could be heard shouting out instructions to his men who seemed already content with the scoreline largely to their advantage.

Rwanda forced their way to get at least a goal, but Kolo Toure and his defensive bloc held firm to ensure the match finished 3-0 in the Elephants' favour.

Attendance was very scant, perhaps due to the absence of Didier Drogba, or frustration from the 2010 World Cup flop, where the Elephants crashed out in the group stage. However, it was good result for a local coach still under scrutiny.