Malick Yalcouye marked his international debut in style as Ivory Coast began their Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign with victory over Ghana.
The Brighton midfielder, who has already scored against Chelsea and Coventry in the Premier League this season following his summer transfer from Swedish club IFK Gothenburg, had a hand in both goals at the Stade de la Paix on Thursday evening.
Firstly, Yalcouye broke the deadlock shortly before half-time with an unstoppable effort that flew past Lawrence Ati Zigi as the 20-year-old was afforded far too much space - similar to his club team-mates Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas in the win over Arsenal last weekend.
Then early in the second half, Yalcouye was brought down in the area by Abdul Fatawu, prompting referee Mustapha Ghorbal to point to the penalty spot.
Franck Kessie, the Cote D’Ivoire captain, stayed calm during a two-minute delay for the Ghana players protesting against the decision and sent Ati Zigi the wrong way to double the home side’s lead.
That proved to be the final goal of the game as Ivory Coast made a winning start in Group C in their bid to qualify for next summer’s tournament.
In truth, Herve Renard’s side more than deserved the victory as Yan Diomande was a threat throughout, while Nicolas Pepe should have converted one of his three chances in the first half.
Ghana did improve, but only after going 2-0 down with substitute Felix Afena-Gyan missing a golden chance late on in addition to Caleb Yirenkyi forcing a good save from Yahia Fofana.
Next up for the Black Stars is a showdown with Gambia on Tuesday evening, though Carlos Queiroz will once again be without Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus.
