Defender Gabe Osho played an hour as the Town under-21s went down 2-1 against Notts County in a friendly at The Brache on Tuesday afternoon.
The centre-half, whose last game was in the play-off final at Wembley in May, came through 60 minutes unscathed in the behind-closed-doors match against the League 2 outfit.
Adrian Forbes’ side created a string of chances in the first half, striking the woodwork twice but it was the Magpies that took the lead shortly before the break.
Parity came when Millar Matthews-Lewis' deflected drive looked to have earned the Town a draw with five minutes left only for County to have the last word in the closing stages.
Forbes said: “It was a very positive first 25 minutes. We were on the front foot, aggressive and created many opportunities. I think if we had scored five goals in the first half nobody would have been surprised.
“However, the disappointing thing is that we took our foot off the gas and allowed Notts County into the game, and they deserved the win.”
On Osho’s appearance, Forbes added: “The players have been in the fortunate position in the last couple of games to have Andros Townsend with them and now Gabe.
“He led by example and trained brilliantly with the group on Monday. He brought his first team knowledge and experience and encouraged the defenders around him and midfielders in front of him.
“He came through unscathed and hopefully he can use this performance to show the manager he’s up to speed and ready for the first team.”
Town: Horlick, Giwa, Trialist A, Piesold, Osho, Kayibanda, Lorentzen-Jones, Nelson, Lynch, Daws, Matthews-Lewis.
Subs: Houghton, Phillips, Braney, Trialist B.