At the end of January, Crystal Palace sent an Under-19 squad to Tel Aviv, Israel, where Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted their annual winter tournament.
While there, the young Palace side played five gruelling matches, battling twice in one day on two occasions.
Though they struggled to notch up points on the scoreboard, the Eagles fought valiantly as a team of 15, 16 and 17-year-olds facing-off against teams of 18 and 19-year-olds in challenging conditions on what was, for many, their first overseas tour.
Led by Academy Director Gary Issott and Under-16s manager Rob Quinn, the Academy squad put in hard shifts on the pitch and were given the chance to broaden their horizons away from it too, taking in the sites and culture of both Tel Aviv and Israel.