Kaizer Chiefs started their pre-season journey with a 2-1 defeat to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem on Tuesday evening.
Coach Nasreddine Nabi handed starts to new Amakhosi signings Thabiso Monyane and striker Flavio da Silva, while Aden McCarthy and Mfundo Vilakazi were also included in the starting line-up.
The two sides were feeling each other out in the early stages of the first half, although Thabo Cele and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo did see a quite a bit of the ball in the middle of the park without creating much in the opposition box.
That proved to be the trend for most of the first half until Chiefs broke the deadlock in the 36th minute through Reeve Frosler, who found the back of the net with a superb strike from distance that left the Vitesse goalkeeper with no chance.
Vitesse, meanwhile, did manage to get a couple half chances in the latter stages of the first half, but they did not do enough with the final ball to trouble goalkeeper Brandon Petersen.
Coach Nabi rang the changes in the changes and brought out a completely new starting line-up that included new signings Ethan Chislett and Nkanyiso Shinga at left-back.
However, the Dutch side got the equaliser a minutes after the restart when full-back Dillan Solomons diverted a cross into his own net at the far post.
Chiefs nearly restored their advantage after the hour mark when Tashreeq Morris was slipped through on goal but after evading one challenge in the box, the former SuperSport United striker was unable to hit the target.
Vitesse completed the turnaround with just under 20 minutes left on the clock as Andy Visser fired past Bruce Bvuma from close range.
Chiefs were unable to carve out another chance in the closing stages against the Dutch giants, as they start their tour with defeat.
Here's how they started:
Chiefs: Petersen, Monyane, Frosler, Miguel, McCarthy, Cele, Mthethwa, Shabalala, Ngcobo, Vilakazi, Da Silva
