Stirling Albion aim to shake off their pre-season woes when the action begins for real on Saturday.
Binos head to Dumbarton for the Premier Sports Cup group stage opener reeling from a double loss last weekend.
Darren Young’s side crashed and burned in the North Lanarkshire Cup.
Albion were downed 3-0 by Airdrie in the first game before losing 3-1 to Albion Rovers on Sunday.
Their only goal from the weekend came in the form of a late consolation from Paul McLean.
Now they’ll hope to do better when they travel to Dumbarton for the first time in a decade.
The cup game will be a dress rehearsal for the cinch League Two opener at the Rock on Saturday, July 30.
Stevie Farrell’s side were relegated in May after finishing ninth in League 1 for the second year in a row.
They were beaten by Edinburgh City in the play-offs and will be playing in the bottom division for the first time since 2008/09.
Farrell has reshaped his squad for the forthcoming campaign, bringing in nine new players including former Binos David Wilson and Declan Byrne from Albion Rovers and experienced defender Martin McNiff, who left Forthbank this summer.
Dumbarton won 3-0 away to English non-league side Workington in their latest friendly on Tuesday evening after edging out Gretna 3-2 at Raydale Park on Saturday.
Most of Binos squad had a run-out over the two days at Broadwood but Saturday’s game came too soon for former East Fife midfielder Ross Davidson and he won’t feature at Dumbarton.
He is one of six new signings so far, along with former East Fife team-mates Aaron Dunsmore and Danny Denholm. Young has also brought in Stenhousemuir forward Robert Thomson and Annan Athletic left-back Cammy Clark.
The latest new recruit was prolific forward Danny Burns from West of Scotland League side Shotts Bon Accord last week.
Now gaffer Young is still hoping to make a number of additions to his squad, which is still light in number.
Trialists are not permitted in the Premier Sports Cup.
Albion’s other games in Group A this season are away to Raith Rovers (July 16) and at home to Aberdeen (July 19) and Peterhead (July 23).
