Saints finished third in the GF Cup held in Denmark at the start of this month.

The youngsters narrowly missed out on a place in the final of the competition despite having excelled with the one of the youngest squads in the tournament.

Having secured 4 points from the opening two games against Swedish side Malmo and Danish team AB, Saints faced Lyngby in a match to decide their last opponents.

Although in the driving seat for a place in the final, they went out for a win against the Danes to secure that spot, knowing that a slip up was likely to push them into the third/fourth place contest.

Despite going a goal down, Saints levelled in an end to end encounter, but were soon up against it when they were reduced to ten men in the last 20 minutes. It was to get worse however, as a touch of indiscipline saw the youngsters go down to nine with five minutes to play. Still pushing for a win, Saints continued to press, but were cruelly beaten late on in a 2-1 defeat.

In going for the victory, they had cost themselves a final berth, as it later transpired that a draw would have been enough, but it wasn't to end on an entirely sour note, as Saints ran out 4-2 winners over Brondby in the last match of the tournament to finish third overall.

Academy Manager Matt Crocker praised the squad for their attitude and commitment on display ahead of the new campaign.

"Our work rate was excellent and even though some indiscipline cost them, we thought the lads proved that they were the best side in the competition," he said.

"We played four games in five days and all of the players got a run out. Their attitude was fantastic and they deserved to be in the final, but it was a great learning curve for them all.

"We've had a good pre season, and having a structured and organised schedule has been perfect for us."

The Under-18s kicked off the new season at Staplewood against Stoke City on Saturday, click here to see how they got on >>>