JEDDAH, 25 January 2006 — Morocco held Egypt to a goalless draw while Ivory Coast scored a 2-1 victory over Libya in a pair of Group A contests last night in the African Nations Cup soccer tournament in Cairo.
Egypt, second in the table behind leaders Ivory Coast having picked up four points from two games, missed a golden chance when Ahmed Fathi fired wide with the goal at his mercy in the 23rd minute.
Morocco, yet to score a goal in the tournament, are third with one point. Libya are bottom with no points. Crowd trouble broke out at halftime when Egyptian fans in the upper tier of one of the stands began pelting Libyan supporters below with plastic bottles.
In the first game, an early goal from Didier Drogba led the Ivory Coast to their second successive win, a 2-1 triumph over Group A opponents Libya. The World Cup finalists, who beat Morocco 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a Drogba penalty, are now on the cusp of the quarterfinals while Libya have been effectively eliminated. Chelsea striker Drogba put the Ivorians one up after a mistake by Libya goalkeeper Muftah Ghzalla in the 10th minute.
Ghzalla appeared to have smothered a shot by Arouna Kone but allowed the ball to slip from his grasp, allowing Kone to set up Drogba for an easy goal from close range. The Ivorians squandered two good chances to add to their tally when Kone and Drogba went wide with close-range headers.
— With input from agencies
