DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre has conceded that his side were second best against Ivory Coast as they lost their semi-final clash following a 1-0 defeat on Wednesday.

Sebastien Haller scored the all-important goal for the hosts after he superbly flicked in Nicolas Pepe’s cross to break Congolese hearts and set up an Africa Cup of Nations final against Nigeria, who had defeated South Africa 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 result in 120 minutes.

“I think it’s a match with very good intensity. A match where we got on well in the first 30 minutes. I think that if we don’t win the match, it’s because we don’t validate our highlight at the start of the match,” Desabre said after the game.

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“After the cooling break in the first half the game started to decline. At the end of the first half and the start of the second half, I found that we were less dangerous than we should have been. Afterward, we must recognize that in front of us, there was a good team from Ivory Coast. It didn’t matter much. We are disappointed because I think we could go a further step.”

On whether Congo lost the game in the second half, Desabre said: “No, I think that at a given moment there is a balance of power that sets in. At the start, we had this balance of power. We didn’t improve it. They had him at one point in the second half. We defend poorly in a situation; they have the player who makes the right move, the quality they need.

“Maybe we just lacked a little energy in the second half. We tried to be able to score by changing the system, by changing the players in the system. But I think it wasn’t enough tonight.”