Reuters

Ivory Coast’s players celebrate after scoring against Burkina Faso during their African Nations Cup soccer match in Malabo.

Malabo – Unimpressive Ivory Coast survived an early penalty appeal on their way to a flattering 2-0 win over Burkina Faso at the African Nations Cup which took them into the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Salomon Kalou’s first-half strike and a bizarre own goal from Bakary Kone were enough to give the Ivorians their second straight win in Group B and a place in the last eight with a match to spare.

Burkina, who again paid for defensive mistakes as they did in their 2-1 defeat to Angola, were eliminated.

However, Ivory Coast’s performance is unlikely to appease the critics angry with coach Francois Zahoui’s safety-first tactics with a team boasting six Premier League players in the starting line-up.

The Elephants produced a similarly dreary display in their opening 1-0 win over Sudan, another theoretically much weaker team.

The game could have taken a different turn if Burkina Faso had been awarded a penalty in the ninth minute when Jonathan Pitroipa was tripped in the area, but play was waved on.

Instead, the Elephants went ahead in the 16th minute when Kalou scored with full-blooded volley after two Burkina Faso defenders failed to clear Drogba’s cross.

The Ivorians sat back, allowing Burkina back into the game as Alain Traore had three long-range efforts on goal before the break.

Pitroipa set up Burkina’s best chance after halftime when he tricked his way to the byline and Traore’s side-footed effort was stopped by a grateful Boubacar Barry.

Gervinho missed two good chances on the break for the Ivorians, who often pulled eight players back into their own half even when in possession, before Kone’s misfortune.

Arthur Boka sent a long free kick into the Burkina area and Kone, unmarked, sent a backwards header looping over stranded Daouda Diakite. – Reuters