JOHANNESBURG: AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie scored a second-half penalty as Ivory Coast laboured to a 1-0 victory over Niger in their opening 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group ‘K’ qualifier in Abidjan on Saturday.

It was the second spot-kick of the game for the home side, after Max Gradel missed a first-half chance from 12 yards having argued furiously with Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe over who would take the kick.

Pepe won the first penalty when he was felled in the box and wanted to take it, but had the ball snatched from him by Gradel, who then saw his effort saved by Niger goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda.

Kessie was able to spare Gradel’s blushes though when the Ivorians were given a second chance from the spot after Kessie’s cross was handled in the box.

This time the kick was stroked confidently into the bottom corner as Kessie netted his first international goal.

Ivory Coast share first place in Group ‘K’ with Madagascar, who beat Ethiopia 1-0 in Antananarivo thanks to a first half goal from Rayan Raveloson.

The Malagasy team were the surprise package of the 2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt, stunning Nigeria and surprising the Democratic Republic of Congo before losing to Tunisia in the quarter-finals.

Coach Nicolas Dupuis, who combines coaching Madagascar with managing a French lower league club, was rewarded with a new four-year contract.

He was satisfied with the tentative performance against Ethiopia given the poor state of the national stadium pitch and limited preparations.

“We need a new venue because the pitch we used today was unplayable,” said the 51-year-old who rose from obscurity to worldwide recognition during the 2019 tournament. “Now we face a difficult trip before playing Niger on Tuesday. We must manage fatigue and will have insufficient time to prepare before the match in Niamey.”

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2019