A technically-gifted Cote d'Ivoire side continued their attacking football after the 1-0 loss to Argentina and comfortably beat Serbia 4-2 to get first win at Group A of the Beijing Olympic men's soccer tournament?in Shanghai?on Sunday.
The three points are crucial for the Ivory Coast, who aims high at their debut journey at the Olympic Games, and earn them the second place in Group A. Argentina now sits on top of the group with six points, and Serbia is at the bottom with one point.
"We scored quickly, and that made us confident. We had good defence and fast players," said Ivory Coast's French coach Gerard Gili.
"We don't think too much in the match. We play the way we want to."
Major striker Sekou Cisse opened the scoring for the Africans merely four minutes after kickoff after captain Gervinho rounded three defenders on the right flank and fed a fine cross. The 23-year-old hitman broke the Argentines' perfect defence record in the last match, which was made four years ago at Athens.
Serbian forward Miljan Mrdakovic leveled with a cunning lob in the 16th minute before fellow defender Slobodan Rajkovic made an own goal with a clumsy header following a Emmanuel Kone corner.
Rajkovic became the tragic hero after the mistake, as the tall guy scored a late equalizer from a corner to notch one point for the Serbians in the 1-1 draw against Australia.
Chelsea star Salomon Kalou and Gervinho contributed two goals in the last twenty minutes, while Serbian substitute Djordje Rakic pulled one back with a header.
Gili praised Gervinho greatly after the game, predicting that his skipper is going to be a super star in the future.
"He will play in a big club and become a big star in the future. Let's just watch. My players are physically strong and technically excellent. I always ask them to move a lot on the pitch."
The small Elephants took advantage throughout the game with their outstanding individual technique and the attacking determination. And the Serbians also played in open style, leaving their rivals too much space to use.
"They (Cote d'Ivoire) have three good forwards, they need space to perform. Unfortunately we gave them the space, and they use it to score goals, the situation is bad for us almost from the first minute," said Serbian coach Miroslav Djukic.
Serbia should feel lucky as the Ivorians had several more clear chances to score.
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)