Didier Drogba came to the rescue of Ivory Coast as he struck twice late in the game to give his team a 4-2 home win against Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2013 qualifiers on Saturday.
The game seemed to be locked to a 2-2 draw as Salomon Kalou, 45, and Gervinho, 65, managed to restore parity after Senegal's Dame Ndoye, 35, Papiss Cisse, 60, led.
Drogba scored the winning goals in the 81stminute and deep in injury time to give the Elephants a comfortable lead ahead of next month's return leg.
At Estadio da Varzea stadium Cameroon lost to Cape Verde 2-0 Saturday courtesy to goals from Ricardo and Jorge Djaniny on 22 and 61 minutes. The Indomitable Lions hope that skipper Samuel Eto'o would return to the team to help them turn their deficit and reach next year's finals.
Nigeria, who had to play without in-form striker Peter Odemwingie, grabbed a precious 2-2 away draw against Liberia.
Sudan also made use of the home and fans advantage when they smashed Ethiopia 5-3.
For full results and fixtures of the CAN 2013 final qualifiers click here
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