Cote d'Ivoire go into their African Nations Cup Group D clash with Mali in Malabo on Saturday without two of their stalwart forwards in the last few years but needing to find a spark to get their campaign back on track.
Didier Drogba has retired and Gervinho will serve the first game of a two match suspension, suddenly leaving coach Herve Renard with much to ponder up front.
Gervinho was the best player on the park in The Elephants' 1-1 draw with Guinea before he received a red card after petulantly striking an opponent, but Renard must now look to new Manchester City man Wilfried Bony and evergreen Salomon Kalou for inspiration - backed up by the considerable talents of Yaya Toure in midfield.
His star players - Gervinho apart - appeared to coast through their opener, but much more application will be needed against a Mali outfit that has finished third at the last two Nations Cup tournaments and were only denied an opening match win by a late Cameroon equaliser.
Ivorian skipper Yaya Toure urges not to read too much into the side's first showing in the competition and says they have a squad that will see them into the next stage.
"The African Cup of Nations is not easy at all, in the first half (against Guinea) we were a little bit clumsy, but that happens in football sometimes. We produced a good reaction after that," he told reporters.
"The red card for Gervinho is frustrating because he is an important player, but we have 23 players who all deserve to be here. We hope the next match against Mali will be more favourable for us. It will be difficult, but we believe we will qualify."
In contrast, Mali coach Henryk Kasperczak praised the tempo of his side in their draw against Cameroon and agrees that opening matches are often not a true reflection of a team's ability - many get better as the competition goes on.
"We have to underline the fact that it was a very complete performance (against Cameroon), with intensity and a good rhythm. We played quality football against a Cameroon team whose own qualities we are well aware of," the Polish coach said.
"Physically we kept going right to the end and there were some good combinations going forward. OK, there was a positional error at the back for the goal but I think it is always difficult at the start of a competition like this."
