Angola 2010: Ivory Coast fail to convince

  1. Posted on Tuesday 12 January 2010 - 10:06
    Walter
    Image of Walter
    Walter Wilson Nana, AfricaNews reporter in Buea, Cameroon
    A star-studded Ivorian team failed to live up to expectations in their opener against a modest Stallions of Burkina Faso. After a 90-minute of regulation time the Burkinabe team neutralized Didier Drogba and his very flashy peers to the surprise of many who have highly tipped the Ivorians to carry the day.
    Drogba
    The crop of Arouna Didane, Yaya Toure, Didier “Maestro” Zokora, Bakary Kone, Salomon Kalou, Difier Drogba, Kader Keita, Kolo Toure and more were eclipsed by the Stallions.

    Baky Kone, with all his verve, missed three scoring opportunities, after having been served most of the time by team mate, Gervinho, whose series of offensive moves came to naught. Drogba could be seen on the green turf, complaining that the passes were not flowing to him and the other attackers as expected.

    The replacements carried out by the trainer of the Elephants of Ivory Coast, Vahid Halhihodzic, introducing Kader Keita, Kalou, did not change much in favour of the Elephants.

    A composed Burkinabe coach, Paulo Duarte, who is also the coach of French Division Two Club, Le Mans and fondly known in Burkina Faso as Mourhino, put forth a strategy that could not allow the guys of Vahid operate with ease.

    26-year-old keeper of the Burkinabe Stallions, Daouda Diakote stopped all threatening attempts from the Ivorians. Diakite and his friends were quite vigilant, except Charles Kabore who lost an 89th minute golden opportunity that would have given the Burkinabes a swell time back home.

    However, some observers say a draw for Burkina Faso in the opening day in their Group B is a good start for them.

    After the not too palatable show from the Ivorians on this first day in Group B, their fans are asking if their darling team will get back to action in the subsequent matches especially against Ghana.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive