January 23, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 13, 1429

ACCRA, Jan 22: A moment of wizardry from Salomon Kalou settled the clash of the heavyweights in Ivory Coast’s favour on Monday when they beat Nigeria 1-0 in their African Nations Cup Group B match in Sekondi.

But the much vaunted Elephants, who are among the title favourites, were overshadowed by a five goal performance from Morocco that came one shy of matching a 38-year-old tournament record.

Morocco beat Namibia 5-1 in Group A in Accra in the first of three matches on Monday, set up by a 28-minute hat-trick from Soufiane Alloudi.

Mali closed the day with a 1-0 win over Benin in another Group B match delayed for 12 minutes when the floodlights lost power moments before kickoff.

Kalou netted on 66 minutes against the run of play to give the Elephants a dream start at the new Essipon stadium.

Both teams struggled to play lively football in scorching heat, with the temperature reaching 35 degrees Celsius.

Nigeria had the best chance with defender Taye Taiwo hitting Boubacar Barry’s bar with a powerful free kick after 14 minutes.

But it was the Ivorians who went ahead when Kalou dribbled past three defenders before beating keeper Austin Ejide from close range.

“Nigeria were the most dangerous team and I think the most important (thing) has been done,” said Ivorian captain Didier Drogba.

Morocco missed matching the Nations Cup record score of 6-1, set by the Ivorians in 1970, when they thumped Namibia.

Alloudi, the rising star of Moroccan football, netted two goals inside the first five minutes against a shocked Namibia side making only their second appearance in the tournament a decade after the first. He scored again in the 28th.

“I was very disappointed by the way we played at the start. I told my players they were like school kids against professionals,” said Namibia coach Arie Schans.

Tarik Sektioui and substitute Moncef Zerka got Morocco’s two other goals while Namibia’s consolation came from Brain Brendell.

A Frederic Kanoute penalty shortly after halftime handed Mali a deserved win although they did not have it easy against Benin, who had lost their three matches at their only previous appearance in finals in 2004.

“We were a bit stressed and it is normal in the first game of such a competition,” Mali coach Jean-Francois Jodar admitted.

Cameroon were slated to play Egypt (1700 GMT) and Zambia meet Sudan (1930) in two Group C matches in Kumasi on Tuesday.—Reuters