Drogba goal gives Ivory Coast winning start in Africa Cup

Jan 22, 2012, 18:07 GMT

Libreville, Gabon - Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored the lone goal to give Ivory Coast a winning 1-0 start against Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.

Ivory Coast, who are one of the favorites to lift the trophy at the end of the January 21 - February 12 competition, did not have it all their own way in the Equatorial Guinea capital of Malabo as Sudan had several chances to equalize in the group B game.

Drogba found the winner three minutes from the break when he headed in a cross from Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou, giving goalkeeper Moez Maghoub no chance.

Sudan, ranked more than 100 places behind their opponents, nearly snatched an equalizer in the dying moments of the first half when Mudathir El-Tahir's shot was brilliantly tipped against the cross-bar by Boubacar Barry.

A disappointing crowd of less than 10,000 in the 15,000 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo saw the Sudanese side push forward in the second half in search of a goal, but Barry did well to keep out a Mohammed Eldin shot midway through the second half.

Ivory Coast, fielding several Premier League players like Drogba, Kalou, Yaya and Kolo Toure and Gervinho, struggled to find a way through a compact Sudan defence and the underdogs were closer to leveling matters than the Ivorians were to doubling their score.

Burkina Faso were scheduled take on Angola in the other group game in the same stadium later Sunday.

Equatorial Guinea beat Libya 1-0 and Zambia stunned Senegal 2-1 in group A matches played in Bata on Saturday, while the other co-hosts Gabon get their campaign off the ground on Monday against Niger in group C, where Tunisa face Morocco in the other match.