The Elephants Breaks the Indomitable Jinx

Max Gradel's first half 25-yard thunderbolt was enough to see the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire to advance to the quarter-finals phase of the 2015 AFCON at the expense of old nemesis, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Wednesday at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.

Ivory Coast had never beaten the Indomitable Lions in an open play in the history of the African Cup of Nations, but the St. Etienne striker's spectacular goal in the 35th minute was enough to save the Ivory Coast from that AFCON bondage.

Captain for the Indomitable Lions Stephane Mbia nearly pulled parity in the 38th minute but Ivorian goalie, Sylvain Gbohouo closed him down quickly to save his side. Edgar Salli missed a golden opportunity in the 45th minute when he fired a closed range effort into the air.

In the 64th minute Manchester City's Wilfried Bony went through the Cameroon central defensive pair to force a save from Sylvain Gbohouo though Bony looked to have been fouled on the way.

The Indomitable Lions came close to roaring in the 81st minute through second half substitute Vincent Aboubakar's 20-yard shot, but fullback Serge Aurier threw himself to block the ball.

With their sweet victory, Ivory Coast will have to face another battle in the quarterfinals where they'll meet the Desert Foxes of Algeria who came second in Group C.