Drogba on target as Ivorians outclass Austria
Reuters - Wednesday 14 November 2012, 23:06
Didier Drogba scored less than two
minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute to help
Ivory Coast overpower Austria 3-0 in their friendly on
Wednesday.
Didier Ya Konan and Lacina Traore were the other scorers as
the Elephants extended their unbeaten run to 22 matches,
including the 0-0 draw with Zambia in this year's Africa Cup of
Nations final which the Ivorians lost on penalties.
Austria had slightly the better of the first half with Marko
Arnautovic and David Alaba coming close with long-range shots
and Marc Janko missing a golden chance from close range.
The game changed completely when Ya Konan powered through
the Austria rearguard and fired into the roof of the net one
minute before half-time.
Chinese-based Drogba came off the bench in the 59th minute
and scored almost immediately with a 25-metre effort which
squirmed under the body of Austria goalkeeper Heinz Lindner.
Traore added the third when he burst past his marker and
fired past Linder from the edge of the area.
Ivory Coast's last defeat in 90 minutes was against Poland
in November 2010.
They are warming up for the Africa Cup of Nations in January
which will almost certainly be the last chance for several of
the current crop of players, including former Chelsea striker
Drogba, to win the title.