2104 FIFA World Cup: Colombia vs Ivory Coast - As it happened...

Zee Media Bureau/Jayanta Oinam

Live coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Group C match between Colombia and Ivory Coast being played at Estadio Nacional in Brasilia. ==================================================================================== OUR FULL COVERAGE ON WORLD CUP 2014» Colombia's Team Profile» Colombia's squad» Ivory Coast's Team Profile» Ivory Coast's squad» Full list of Group Standings» Fixtures & Results» Match Report» ==================================================================================== FULL-TIME: Colombia 2 - 1 Ivory Coast 94' - Colombia registered first back-to-back wins in the World Cup. 93' - Yet another valiant run from Ivory Coast. But again, the conversion was found wanting. 92' - What a howler from Yepes, but a timely tackle from the goalie save the blues for the veteran defender, and maintain the lead. 91' - Confusion surrounded as both the teams involved after the Tiote foul. 90' - Yellow Card for Cheik Tiote. Four minutes ADDED. 89' - What an attempt from Quintero. He must be some 50 metres away from the goal, but lofted one teasing delivery only to see Barry produced an exceptional save. 87' - A dogged Ivory Coast team won a free-kick but Toure's attempt once again failed to score. 85' - In between, Yepes suffered cramp and sought medical assistance. He can't be substituted because, Colombia have exhausted all their three subs. 85' - Ivory Coast are in a zone. Created at least three goal scoring chances in the last couple of minutes, but the poor finishing let down their superb creative moves. 83' - Ivory Coast switched flanks, but the exchanges in the final third left the African groping for answers. But from a throw-in, Bolly tried a header which went over the bar. 81' - Aurier's delivery from the flag post was headed away by Yepes. And from the clearance, Aurier once again delivered a cross, but Ospina completed a cool collection. 80' - With ten minutes left in the regulation time, Ivory Coast upped the ante. But their attacks have all been defended well by Colombian defenders. But their persistence paid off, won a corner. 78' - Colombia SUB: Abel Aguilar out, Alexander Mejia in. 77' - Drogba was perfectly set-up after few remarkable runs in the centre. But the veteran's leap was found wanting. Colombia goal-kick. 76' - Colombia 2 - 1 Ivory Coast 75' - From the restart, Ivory Coast almost found the equaliser. But the Colombia goalie did enough stop to Aurier cross. 74' - GOAL!!! Showboat Gernvinho did the trick for the Africans. The Serie A player outfoxed three defenders before drilling through with a right footed shot. 72' - Ivory Coast SUB: Mathis Bolly in, Serey Die out. 71' - Colombia SUB: Armero out, Arias in. 70' - GOAL!!! Juan Quintero produced one sublime touch to give Colombia a two-goal lead over Ivory Coast. All from a counter attack. 69' - However, Ivory Coast, thanks to their huge deployment on the opponent half, got couple more chances. 68' - From the set-piece, Yaya Toure tried to curl but it crashed into the wall. 67' - Ivory Coast SUB: Max Gradel out, Salomon Kalou in. 65' - Ivory Coast are trying to build an attack from the left. And Drogba won a free-kick just outside the Colombia goal after he tripped by Aguilar. 64' - GOAL!!! Rodriguez scored for Colombia from a Gutierrez corner. What a header from the youngster. 60' - At the hour mark, Ivory Coast, found themselves attacking their opponents in a flurry. But from a counter-attack, Colombia won a corner. 59' - Ivory Coast SUB:Wilfried Bony made way for superstar, Didier Drogba. And soon, he got himself into defensive duties as Colombia were waiting to take their free-kick, just outside the Ivory Box box. 58' - Suddenly, both the teams exchanges blows. Gutierrez's cross flipped the post. Earlier Cuadrado produced a masterclass, controlling a high ball inside the Ivory Coast box with a dept touch. 57' - Gradel, the defender, almost put the Africans ahead. But a sliding tackle, which could have gone all wrong for the Colombians, saved. 56' - From the set-piece, Colombia did little to open the Ivory Coast defence. In fact, from the resultant throw-in, the Africans won the possession and then a Yaya Toure delivery saw Bony missing a chance to score. 55' - Yellow Card! Zokora, who already got one in their first match got another one today, first of the match. And will the next match. He has three RED CARDS too. 54' - Zapata got a physical might of Wilfred Bony, as the duo fight for the ball on the right. But the experienced defender got the better of the fight. 53' - After much convincing from Webb, the wall was erected for the free-kick. But Toure's attempt to curl from outside the ball proved one futile attempt as the ball went out of play. Goal kick for Colombia. 51' - Ivory Coast, after surviving a reckless defending, found Yaya Toure running his show, subsequently winning yet another free-kick in a dangerous area. 50' - Gervinho, from the counter attack, was floored inside the Colombia box. But no penalty claims. 49' - Gutierrez, once again, missed a chance to break the dead-lock. He was found lacking in speed as Ivory Coast defenders robed him of the ball just outside the D. 48' - First free-kick of the half to ivory Coast. Yaya Toure's delivery from 24 yards was comfortably palmed down by Ospina. 47' - No substitutes during the interval. 46' - Second half proceedings started and the players in the green outfit have extended control over the ball. But a mistake from Bamba almost allowed Colombia a sneaked into their box. One interesting stat for Ivory Coast is, seven of their 11 goals at the World Cup have come after the 60th minute. Colombia look out. Players and their support staff are ready to come out for the second half. In an intense first-half play, Ivory Coast controlled the midfield with Yaya Toure pulling the strings as expected. But their five shots on target of six attempts, were poor and lack power. For, Colombia... with midfield credits already taken by the Africans, tried to attack using the flanks. But most of the times, these runs were left stranded with the lack of support cast. But the best chance of the match so far came from Colombia, when Gutierrez missed an easy chance in front of the goal. 4+1' - HALF-TIME: Colombia 0 - 0 Ivory Coast 45' - One minute ADDED. In between, Ivory Coast sustained their pressure on the South Americans. And from one loose pass, Colombians quickly launched an attack. But Teofilo Gutierrez's run was ruled offside. 44' - Yaya Toure once again created a chance for the Ivory Coast team-mates, but the final push inside the Colombia box was far from perfect. 43' - This Ivory Coast's turn to test the opposing defenders. Tiote's hit on the goal was blocked by a Colombia defender. 42' - From the throw-in, Colombia did managed to enter the Ivory Coast half. But Pablo Armero's cross was found wanting. 41' - Gradel released a wayward high ball. which looked more of a goal-kick cross-field, then from it, Colombia won a throw in their own half. 40' - With five into the break, ivory Coast have enjoyed greater ball possession so far. But the Colombians have created more than a few dangerous runs. 39' - Yepes did a superb job, defending. Then he involved himself into an attack. 37' - From the goal-kick, Colombia attacked the Ivory Coast but Zokora cleared the ball to safety, from the box. 36' - Yaya Toure and Bony involved in a build up, passing the ball around the Colombia goal-mouth for some time before Die Serey hit it over the bar. Bad finish. 34' - A listless run from the Colombians saw Cuadrado leaving a high ball inside the Ivory Coast half. 32' - Howard Webb finally got involved in the action as one Ivory Coast defender made a late touch on an on-rushing Colombian player in their own half. The referee called for a free-kick, for Colombia. Earlier, Yaya Toure performed his magic, running past three opponents, but a timely tackle cut shot his foray. 30' - Aurier tested Colombian defence with a nice turn, then forced goal-keeper to produced a save. 29' - After the goal-kick, Ivory Coast, as usual made a run through the midfield thanks to Tiote's pace. But, again, the final piece was found missing... 27' - Gutierrez, who scored six times in the qualifiers, missed a simple chance to put Colombia ahead. Against the run of the play, Colombia swiftly found the wide open space inside the Ivory Coast unattended. But the striker's touch proved ineffective. 26' - Zuniga, playing a sweeping role on the right, has got a free-kick won for himself. But the final delivery from the set-play was left too much for his team-mates to involved in. 24' - Colombia failed to capitalize from the set-play. Yaya Toure showed his class as Ivory Coast wrested the opportunity from the South Americans. After a couple of passes, Tiote had a sigh on the goal, but it sailed over the bar. 23' - Gradel got a warning from Webb as he tried to out-muscled one of the Colombian defenders. Colombia won a free-kick. 21' - From the corner, Colombians have tried to exploit the defence. But Ivory Coast defenders are rock solid, as of now. 20' - Ivory Coast defender Boka had a bad time, he has been tested more than a couple of times by the Colombians. In his last touch, conceded a corner. 19' - Ivory Coast have falled back to build up a move, but the Colombians continue to press hard in the African half. 17' - After the goal-kick, Colombia soon won the ball back and have created an opening inside the Ivory Coast box, but the outcome - still a nought. 16' - James Rodriguez's delivery from the flag-post failed to create a chance as Ivory Coast defenders cleared to the ball to safety. 15' - Zokora had some anxious moments as his clearance from Cuadrado cross almost turned into an own-goal. Luckily, the ball sailed over the bar for the first CORNER of the match, to the Colombians. 14' - Ibarbo had a run-in from the left, but he was marked by a defender and the ball out of goal-line. Goal kick for ivory Coast. 13' - Bony found himself fighting for the ball in the Colombia half, but his attempt to control the ball was not good... 12' - Then, the South American launched their own attack, of course, against the run. But the result, a nought! 10' - Yaya Toure won a free-kick inside the Colombia half. The Man City player delivered it perfectly, but alert Colombian defenders cleared the ball. 8' - Gervinho got an opportunity to create a workable chance for ivory Coast, but he was left alone upfront. 7' - Great defending from the Ivory Coast players. Colombia have got at least four players inside the box, but a last gasp clearance averted the danger. 6' - In between, the play is stopped for some seconds, as a bigger, inflated ball invaded the pitch. Which was in fact, deflated by one of the Colombia players. Great work!!! 5' - A dangerous looking move from Ivory Coast was cut short at the Colombia goalmouth thanks to some great anticipation from the defenders. But, against the run, Colombia got the first attempt on the goal. Unluckily, it went off the radar. 4' - Colombia won a throw-in on the left. But they have given the ball back to the Africans. Then Ivory Coast won their own throw-in. 3' - Boka got a run on the left from a release from the Ivory Coast midfield, but the ball was too fast for him. Colombia won a goal-kick. 2' - After Colombia;s throw-in, Ivory Coast won a goal-kick. Then after pushing through the left flanks, they won a throw-in, which was relayed back to their defenders. 1' - Ivory Coast started the proceedings from the centre, but soon Colombia won the ball from the Africans on the right flank. For the second match, Drogba will start from the bench as his understudy, Bony leads Ivory Coast's frontline. Colombia are in Yellow top and white shorts, while Cete d'Ivoire are in all green outfit. English referee Howard Webb will officiate the match. Fifteen minutes to kick-off and we have the team sheets for the match: Colombia XI: Ospina; Zuniga, Yepes, Zapata, Armero; Sanchez, Aguilar; Cuadrado, Rodriguez, Ibarbo; Gutierrez SUBS: Arias, Carbonero, Vargas, Guarin, Mejia, Balanta, Bacca, Ramos, Quintero, Martinez, Mondragon, Valdes Ivory Coast XI: Boubacar Barry; Aurier, Bamba, Zokora, Boka; Cheick, Die, Yaya Toure; Gradel, Bony, Gervinho SUBS: Diarrassouba, Toure, Bolly, Akpa Akpro, Kalou, Drogba, Ya Konan, Diomande, Gbohouo, Djakpa, Sio, Mande ==================================================================================== Both Colombia and Ivory Coast registered wins in their respective opening games. And a win for either side will put themselves in prime position to top the group. Jose Pekerman`s Colombia will start as favourites -- especially after scoring three against a strong defensive outfit like Greece. But Ivory Coast`s came from behind win over the spirited Japan, must have given Sabri Lamouchi lot of confidence. So, the Group C encounter at Estadio Nacional in Brasilia will be a high octane one. Besides the high stakes involved, both the teams have abundant exciting talents. The presence of Didier Drogba, James Rodriguez, Yaya Toure and Mario Yepes will make the fixture a world-class anyday.