Ivory Coast hit five past Guinea

By Julien Pretot

SEKONDI (Reuters) - Salomon Kalou scored a double as Ivory Coast cruised into the semi-finals of the African Nations Cup with a 5-0 demolition of Guinea in Sekondi on Sunday.

Ivory Coast next play either Tunisia or Cameroon, who meet in their quarter-final in Tamale on Monday.

There was a minute's silence before kickoff in memory of the late son of former Ivory Coast coach Uli Stielike, who died this week.

Abdelkader Keita opened the scoring in the 25th minute of the quarter-final at the Essipon stadium after outpacing the Guinea defence for a 1-0 halftime lead.

Captain Didier Drogba made it two in the 70th having been put through by Kalou, who netted his double in the space of nine minutes between the 73rd and 81st.

Substitute Bakary Kone rubbed salt in Guinea's wounds by adding a fifth four minutes from time.

The Elephants, runners-up in the 2006 tournament in Egypt, were simply too strong for Guinea. Though they missed several clear chances, Gerard Gili's side left no room for doubt about the outcome.

The game failed to live up to expectations until the 25th minute when Keita outpaced the defence to fire home with a low shot from the right that went in at the far post for his second goal of the tournament.