The Athletic Reserves put on a spirited performance, but ultimately still fell short against Palmerston North Boys High in the Western Premiership on Saturday.
Meanwhile the local Charity Cup and Senior Cup competitions produced their fair share of upsets and fierce battles.
A 4-1 loss to PNBHS was all the Athletic Reserves were able to muster in what was a valiant effort for the development side.
Bolstered by a few of the first team players, the added experience was clearly evident as the Reserves took their opportunities well, and played good football in patches throughout the game.
But it was never going to be easy to find a foothold against a well-oiled PNBHS team, who have been performing well all season, and have a history of being a disruptive force in the Western Premiership.
Jordan Candish did well to get his side on the scoreboard, netting his third goal for the season, yet his mark on the scoresheet was the only reward for the few promising chances that the Reserve earned themselves.
The Reserves are back at Skoglund this weekend against the Palmerston North Marist Thirds this weekend, still in search of that elusive win.
In the two games of the Women's Senior Cup competition played on Saturday, the Athletic Women picked themselves up a 4-0 win over the Castlecliff Saints in a match that was full of sporting competitiveness from both sides.
The other match in the Cup competition saw rivals Rivercity Scrappers and the Wanganui City Women battle it out, with the Scrappers looking to make life difficult for the City Women in their title aspirations.
The Scrappers gave the City Women an early scare, after a well placed ball was coupled with a defensive mistake in an attempted clearance to allow the Rivercity striker to get herself on goal and push a well-placed shot beyond the City keeper.
The score stayed at 1-0 for a while until City brought the scores back level, only for the Scrappers to once again slip in behind the City defences, and pulled themselves ahead.
City were not done, and continue to press the Scrappers own defensive line, and soon earned an equaliser, putting the game on a knife's edge for the remaining minutes.
The scores stayed locked at the final whistle, leaving the Scrappers still lagging behind on the points table, but full of the self belief, and would probably mean that the City Women will have to work hard to maintain their current lead on the competition.
Pool A of the Charity cup saw St Anthony's Castlecliff claim a 3-0 victory over a Marist Casuals side that was out to spoil the party for St Ants, while the Rivercity Braves were too strong for the Marist Shamrocks.
Rounding out the pool matches for Pool A, the City Wanderers secured a comfortable win over the City Thirsties, and also kept themselves sitting atop the pool in the second week of the competition.
Pool B saw a surprise upset with the Athletic Weekenders grinding out a 2-1 victory over the City Hammers, leaving the Hammers to fall off the top perch in the Pool B competition, while the Athletic Cosmos cruised to a 5-0 victory over Castlecliff United.
The Marist Bhoys claimed their second win in two weeks over the Rivercity Chiefs, giving them top position in Pool A, courtesy of the Weekenders denying the Hammers a win.
Bhoys' time on the top may well be shortlived as Marist Celtic, who had a bye on the weekend, will be chomping at the bit to get themselves back into the fray and lift themselves off the foot of the Pool B table.