Harrison Neal and Luke Armstrong were handed their debuts at Exeter City - with both players starting the League One clash.
And manager Paul Simpson believes both will have benefitted from the 90 minutes they received at St James' Park.
Speaking after the game, the Blues' boss said: "Second half we've had a bit of a go and maybe on another day Luke Armstrong gets a couple of goals.
"He was a little bit unfortunate with the one where he was stretching a bit and he hit the post. He'll be better for playing the game today and getting that under the belt.
"Harrison Neal will be better for it too and I thought he was excellent in midfield for us today.
"He knitted it all together well, he showed a good range of passing, he won tackles and kept things going for us.
"There were some good things, but the result is really disappointing."
Simpson also reserved praise for Dan Butterworth after he netted his first goal for the club with a fine strike from range.
"It was a fantastic strike," he added.
"He worked the goalkeeper and we said we had to work the goalkeeper.
"I think we had two or three opportunities in the first half - Jordan Gibson has had a chance, Taylor Charters - and you've got to work the goalkeeper."