Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi was on target for the Squirrels

Ivory Coast kept their stranglehold on Group H of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they defeated Burundi 1-0 in Bujumbura on Saturday.

Christian Ndri, otherwise known as Romaric, netted the first-half winner.

Romaric's free-kick in the 33rd minute flew past the home side's goalkeeper to silence the crowd.

The Elephants were without leading names such as strikers Didier Drogna and Salomon Kalou, but still had too much on the day for their hosts.

Meanwhile, Benin kept alive their hopes of winning the group to qualify for the tournament with an impressive 3-0 away win over Rwanda in Kigali on Saturday.

Striker Razak Omotoyossi opened scoring for the Squirrels early in the second half after dominating the early exchanges.

Further strikes from Stephane Sessegnon and Bahrain-based Seidath Tchomogo sealed the important away win for the visitors to pile the pressure on Rwanda's Ghanaian coach Sellas Tetteh.

Ivory Coast are top of the group with maximum six points, Benin are second on four points.

Burundi are third on the table with one point while Rwanda are at the bottom with no points.

Ivory Coast host Benin in their next qualifier in March 2011, while Burundi are away in Rwanda.

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