Threave Rovers lost 2-0 to Spartans in their first friendly of the summer.
The Edinburgh side, which finished fifth in last term’s Lowland League standings, cashed in with goals from Jamie Penker and Blair Henderson.
Threave boss Vinnie Parker said: “We gave a good account of ourselves.
“We sat in with a 4-3-2-1 to begin with just to try to bed ourselves in but I was pleasantly surprised how well we kept the ball.
“We kept the ball brilliantly and it meant we could try and hunt the game down in the second half. We went two up front and created the better chances.
“We played a young boy from the under-17s, Callum Johnston.
“He came on for the last 10 or 15 minutes and didn’t look out of place.
“They started back training a wee bit before us and had a good result against East Fife the week before.
“They looked sharp in the final third and you know at that level if you give someone a chance they’ll score. Overall I’m very pleased. It’s a great set-up and great facilities, you’re always well looked after. It’s a good surface and it would have been a decent game to watch.”
Threave welcome Whitehill Welfare from the East of Scotland League to Meadow Park on Saturday as they continue their preparations for life in the West of Scotland League which will begin at Glenvale on July 30.
Parker added: “We chose opposition from different levels so it’s a different test and a different brand of football.
“It will give a chance for lads who didn’t get minutes last Saturday to get minutes this Saturday.
“We’re also looking at bringing in Declan Rogerson on loan from Queen of the South.
“He was due to come up on Saturday but picked up an injury training for Queens.”
