Cote d’Ivoire leave it late to maintain Herve Renard’s perfect return

Cote d’Ivoire needed two late goals to beat Somalia 2-0 and preserve Herve Renard’s winning start to his second spell in charge.

Five days after a controlled 2-0 victory over Ghana, Renard’s side were frustrated for almost the entire match by a well-organised Somalia defence. Yann Gboho finally broke the deadlock in the 89th minute before Bazoumana Toure added a second in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The scoreline suggested a more comfortable evening than the Elephants actually experienced. Cote d’Ivoire dominated possession for long periods, but struggled to turn that control into clear chances or goals.

Yan Diomande and Nicolas Pepe tried to create openings from wide positions, while Elye Wahi and his team-mates lacked accuracy in front of a compact Somali defence.

Renard made no attempt to disguise his frustration with the performance.

“I saw a difficult first half, with a lot of complacency and clumsiness,” said the France-born coach.

He also highlighted two missed chances, saying his team had failed to score from “two opportunities 50 centimetres from the line”.

“If you score much earlier in a match like this, you are much more comfortable,” Renard added.

The breakthrough eventually came from the substitutes. Gboho and Bazoumana Toure, both included in Renard’s first squad of his new tenure alongside eight other first-time call-ups, scored after coming on.

That was a marked contrast to the manager’s first match back in charge. Cote d’Ivoire had begun his return with an assured 2-0 win against Ghana, with Malick Yalcouye opening the scoring before Franck Kessie converted a penalty.

Against Somalia, the Elephants at times appeared to rely on their individual quality to eventually make the difference. Renard nevertheless praised his players’ “perseverance and the final result”.

The victory means Cote d’Ivoire have taken six points from six, while also keeping two clean sheets. Their results under Renard remain perfect, although the performance against Somalia has given the manager an early source of concern.

The team will have a quick opportunity to respond when they face Cameroon in a friendly. Against an opponent of a different calibre, the missed chances and complacency criticised by Renard could prove considerably more costly.