Cape Town - Orlando Pirates head coach Eric Tinkler was happy with the debuts of Roger Majafa and Edwin Gyimah despite his side being held to a 1-1 draw by Mpumalanga Black Aces.
Tinkler was left frustrated by the result of the match, which continues their indifferent start to the season and sees them in a disappointing ninth place in the Premiership after the first four games.
However, there was a silver lining for the coach as Majafa made a big impact on the game after coming off the bench and fellow debutant Gyimah was solid in defence.
"Majafa was excellent, he came in and changed the game for us," Tinkler told KickOff. "We grew in confidence. Immediately players started to make themselves more available.
"His movement offensively, he is very good. He doesn't hide, he always looks for the ball and he created so many chances for us.
"I think he made a huge impact in the game. We knew he would do that because we obviously saw it in training with him.
"I was in two minds whether I will start him against Aces or whether to bring him on as we did."
Of Gyimah, he added: "Other than the mistakes which led to a goal, I thought he had a fantastic performance.
"It's not easy to make a debut, particularly in a game such as that because it was important for us to get a result, especially after the loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in the League. I'm happy for both of them."