It also improved the structure so that the van can get top marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's new frontal crash test, which hits a fixed barrier at an angle.
They had rested a number of key players but while the papers might have hinted such competition was not ideal preparation for the second Test, I look at it from a more positive angle.
The path, tempo and face angle seemed to line up fine in this admittedly un-scientific test, but more importantly, when the device said a putt was bad, we generally missed it.
The Chelsea frontman did test Diakite in the 85th minute but the Burkinabe goalkeeper was equal to his snap-shot from a tight angle as the Ivorians' frustration continued.
The severity of the laboratory test was equivalent to an oblique collision with the rocky surface of the Earth - a comet coming in at an angle of less than 25 degrees from the horizon, rather than head on (perpendicular to the Earth's surface).