Orlando Pirates believe the U19 side's success in reaching the semi-finals of the Bayhill Cup tournament in Cape Town is a positive for the club's youth development goals.
Coach Mandla Qhoqhi saw his team bow out in the final four to SuperSport United although Bucs enjoyed good wins against the likes of Bayview United and Bidvest Wits on the road to the semi-final.
As such, Qhoqhi is satisfied with the progress being made. He told the club's official website: "Look, we all would have liked to go as far as reach the final and win this competition but realistically we took a very young team to the tournament as we have bigger plans to see these boys grow and mature to one day play in the first team.
"The competition was well organised and the support was great; all this made for a very good tournament for the players to test and measure themselves with their peers."
SuperSport would go on to meet and defeat Mamelodi Sundowns 4-2 in the final of the tournament to clinch the title they last won in 2016.