Ivory Coast beat Tunisia 2-0 in a friendly at Zayed Sports City on Thursday night as the two teams stepped up their preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea from January 22. The Chelsea pair of Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba provided the goals for Ivory Coast, who lost the services of midfielder Cheick Tiote in the 73rd minute after UAE referee Ammar Al Junaibi sent him off for a brawl with Majdi Traoui. Ivory Coast were the better team in the first half and organised many attacking moves, but the Tunisian defenders and custodian were successful in keeping them at bay until the 43rd minute, when Kalou gave them the lead with a brilliant solo effort that saw him hoodwinking two defenders. Drogba started the second half from where his team left off in the first, as he added the second from the spot, converting a penalty which was awarded to his team two minutes after the break.