“But I spoke to them at half-time and they scored three goals.”
“Last year we could not accomplish our mission, so we told the boys that we should come to win [this year] and prove that they deserved to be applauded.”
Mauritius drew some consolation from left-winger Jean Yannick Aristide being named Player of the Tournament.
Mauritius FA President Samir Sobha praised his team’s performance in their first African final.
“We set up this team only seven months ago and we are delighted with the results,” he told BBC Sport.
“We have youth championships for the U-13, U-15 and U-17 – for both men and women – and the work we have begun on youth development is yielding its fruits.
“There is still a long way to go, but we want to continue on this path.”
Earlier in the day, Malawi defeated South Africa 2-1 to claim third place.