Favourites Ivory made a dream start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign this evening with a 2-1 victory over Togo at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa.

It was, however, not an easy one for the star-studded Ivorians as they were evenly matched by the Togolese in almost every department of the game.

The Ivorians led by the legendary Didier Drogba opened their account rather early – in the eight minute through reigning African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure but the Togolese cancelled the deficit on the dot of 4 minutes when Jonathan Ayite slammed in the ball off a corner kick.

The Hawks of Togo believed they had taken the driver’s seat in the 59^th minute but their effort was ruled offside.

Just when everyone thought both sides had shared spoils, an unmarked Gervinho powered home the winner in the 87^th minute after a free kick to give the Elephants the maximum points. A late rally by the hawks led by eccentric marksman Seyi Adebayor came to nought when goalie Boubacar Barry frantically cleared off the goal line.

The second match in the group between Algeria and Tunisia comes up in about an hour.

•Photo: Gervinho’s late strike gave it to the Ivorians.