The Ivory Coast have beaten Morocco 1-0 in their African Cup of Nations encounter in Egypt today. The scorer of the only goal in the game, Chelsea FC striker Didier Drogba, was substituted after 65 minutes of the Group A tie with a recurrence of a knee injury.

Didier Drogba converted a penalty in the 39th-minute to secure the win over a very organised Morocco side. But had to leave the field after suffering from a recurrence of a knee injury which has been affecting the striker for some time. It is unclear whether Drogba will be fit for Tuesday's game against Libya in Cairo

“He's been carrying this knee injury for a while now,” said Ivory Coast coach Henri Michel, “He's got three days to recover before the next game, and we'll have to see what we're going to do.”

His absence against Libya would be a real blow for the Cote D’Ivoire, particularly as fellow striker Aruna Dindane has left the team, following the unfortunate death of one of his twin daughters.

Even though the win was a very tight affair, coach Henri Michel was satisfied with Saturday's win.

“It's good to have won, even though it was a difficult game against a very good Morocco side, and on a pitch where you couldn't play quality football. It was too hard, and too bobbly,” said the Ivory Coast coach.

Didier Drogba also said that he hoped the win would enable his colleagues to prepare for the next two group games, with the pressure now slightly off them.

“We played well, and handled things very professionally. It's important for the rest of the campaign to have started well.”

Meanwhile, Morocco defender Noureddine Naybet, who plies his trade with Tottenham Hotspur, and who’s team reached the 2004 African Cup of Nations final against eventual winners Tunisia, pinpointed that it was the lack of finishing that accounted for his side's defeat.

“We didn't make the most of what we had...and they took their chance and scored,” said the Spurs defender. “There are two matches to go, we'll have to handle them properly.”

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati