Ivory Coast took a large step towards qualifying
for their third World Cup in a row by beating
Senegal 3-1 in the opening leg of their play-off.
First-half goals from Didier Drogba, from the penalty
spot, and Gervinho gave the Elephants a commanding
lead.
Salomon Kalou added a third in the second half but
Papiss Demba Cisse pulled one back deep in stoppage
time.
The second leg will be played in Morocco next month,
because Senegal are barred from playing at home.
The ban results from their last competitive meeting
with the Ivorians, who were leading an African Cup of
Nations qualifier 6-2 on aggregate when rioting inside
the Leopold Senghor Stadium forced the game's
cancellation.
If Senegalese fans found that scoreline hard to swallow,
they would have been similarly unimpressed with their
side in Abidjan as Drogba fired the home side into a
fifth-minute lead.
After Gervinho was fouled by Cheikh Kouyate, the
talismanic striker sent Senegal goalkeeper Bouna
Coundoul the wrong way from the spot.
Worse was to come for the visitors just nine minutes
later when Gervinho cut in from the flank and fired a
shot that was helped in by a massive deflection off
defender Lamine Sane, leaving Coundoul with no
chance.
And Ivorian players and fans might have started to
permit themselves thoughts of Brazil as the Elephants
went 3-0 up just minutes into the second half.
Gervinho, who now plays at Roma after an
underwhelming spell at Arsenal, was involved again,
breaking free from a crowd of players before teeing up
Kalou, who took a touch before tucking home.
Minutes later, it was the turn of reigning African
Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure to try his luck but his
effort was well saved by Coundoul.
That could yet prove a crucial stop because instead of
being four goals down going into the second leg,
Senegal will only trail by two after Cisse scored with the
very last kick of the match.
In the 96th minute the hosts failed to clear a corner,
allowing the Newcastle United striker to poach a goal
that prompted the Ivorian players to collapse to the
turf in frustration at the final whistle seconds later.
If the late goal was disappointing for the hosts, so was
the booking for Cisse's club colleague Cheick Tiote - a
second caution of the qualifying campaign ruling him
out of the away leg on 16 November.
Even so Ivory Coast, frequently described as the
strongest side on the continent, take a healthy
advantage into the game in Casablanca, where Senegal
will need to deliver one of their best performances of
recent years if they are to qualify for their first World
Cup since reaching the quarter-finals in 2002.
"We showed today that we can be a team," Kalou told
BBC Sport. "We scored early, which gave us the
confidence to go forward and score more.
"I think it's a good victory. We can be positive about
the next round because there is one more game to go,
but we did one step and we have to fight to get the
second one."
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