Togo Holds Cup Holders Cote d’Ivoire in Group C Opener

AFCON 2017…

Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire were held to a goalless draw in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group C clash against Togo at the Stade d’Oyem in the Gabonese city of Oyem yesterday evening.

As the defending champions, the Elephants were the favourites against Togo’s Sparrow Hawks in the Group C opener.

Togo goalkeeper Kossi Agassa was called into action just 10 minutes into game and produced a good save to deny Ivory Coast striker Jonathan Kodjia.

Slyvain Gbohouo, the Ivorian shot-stopper, was also tested in the 29th minute denying Mathieu Dossevi as the Sparrow Hawks looked to take the lead.

Nevertheless, the Elephants and Sparrow Hawks were unable to break the deadlock in the first-half and the score was 0-0 at the interval.

A quiet second-half followed as the two teams failed to seriously test the shot-stoppers Gbohouo and Agassa.

Wilfried Zaha was looking lively for Cote d’Ivoire on his competitive debut. In the 68th minute, he cut inside, before unleashing a shot which was blocked in the box.

The winger was then replaced by experienced Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony in the 70th minute as the Elephants pushed more men forward.

However, the Togo defensive line were happy to sit back and contain the Elephants until match referee Eric Otogo-Castane blew the final whistle and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.