( CNN ) Again , so much expectation -- but again , not so much on show to live up to it . Ivory Coast came into their opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations as many people 's tip for the title , but began the tournament in a fashion suggesting that expectation was again not sitting easily with them . The contest against Guinea , whose players have spoken of their determination to do well for a country devastated by the Ebola virus , showed the familiar frailties that have hindered an Ivory Coast team boasting star names such as Yaya Toure , Wilfried Bony and Gervinho . A lack of cohesion was apparent in both defense and attack , and a Guinea team that scored six goals in their final two qualifying matches -- played in Morocco because of the crisis -- took advantage in style . Mohamed Yattara thrashed in a stunning volley to open the scoring after 36 minutes of a first half in which the vast bulk of the energetic football came from the underdogs . Just before the hour mark , a bad situation for the Ivorians seemed likely to become worse when Gervinho -- who had shown more purpose than most of his teammates before the break -- was sent off for needlessly lashing out at Naby Keita . Seydou Doumbia came to the rescue when he rounded off a well-worked move to equalize after 72 minutes , steering his shot into the bottom corner after Bony 's neat control and layoff . But there were more questions than answers for coach Herve Renard , who took over from Sabri Lamouchi after the team 's failure to make it through the group stages of last summer 's World Cup in Brazil , after this 1-1 draw . Renard is the latest man to attempt to end Ivory Coast 's long wait for another African Cup of Nations success -- the most recent of those came in 1992 . He showed that he was unafraid to make bold changes when he brought off Toure with five minutes remaining , with the Manchester City star looking decidedly unimpressed as he made way for Cheick Doukoure . Ivory Coast produced some of their better football when down to 10 men , but again they were less than the sum of their parts . With challenges against Cameroon and Mali waiting in the wings , Renard will be keen to see them harness their full potential sooner rather than later . The Frenchman is by no means the first coach of this squad to be left puzzling over just how to achieve that .
Ivory Coast many people 's favorites for trophy . Guinea took first-half lead through Mohamed Yattara volley . Gervinho sent off just before hour mark . Seydou Doumbia hits equalizer with just under 20 minutes remaining .