The target for lower-grade football teams who had the nerve to enter the Chatham Cup was to score the first goal, and several managed that feat against higher opposition in cup ties on Saturday as Grants Braes, Gore Wanderers and Old Boys drew first blood.
At Ocean Grove, Grants Braes took an eighth-minute lead against champion side Caversham when Luke Mitchell scored for the home team to rapturous applause from Braes fans.
But, generally, the superior fitness and organisation of premiership teams overpowered the ''minnows'' and, not without some relief, Caversham hit back when youngster Ben Wade equalised.
Coach Malcolm Fleming's side earned a 2-1 lead by halftime through Jared Grove, and then it was another Fleming, nephew Ryan, who clinched the 3-1 result with a well-taken 51st-minute strike.
So, there were no fairy-tale finishes in this year's Chatham Cup matches in the southern region, as senior sides rammed in 50 goals in eight matches to totally dominate the plucky lower-grade sides that entered the cup.
In Gore, the Wanderers also scored first as former Southland player of the year Frank de Jong hit University's net to create a 1-0 halftime scoreline, but the students hit back with two goals in two minutes when Dom Scahill and Ben Horton eventually breached the Wanderers' defence in minutes 65 and 67 and stayed ahead for a 4-2 win.
A spectacular ninth-minute James Tucker goal gave Old Boys a surprise lead over Northern, but Harry Fraser equalised at the Caledonian Ground and coach Lewis Houghton's side cranked up pressure to go on to a 7-2 win.
Goals arrived via Tom Simpson, Ryan Hawkin (2), Dave Henderson, Lathin Greig and En Watanabe. Old Boys found consolation in a second goal, from Mani Gill.
However, a fairy-tale of sorts did take place at Ellis Park, where Ben Kiore made a return to first team football for Roslyn-Wakari after an eight-month gap due to injuries. The speedster showed he still has electric pace as he scored twice in Roslyn's 6-0 win over Invercargill Thistle.
Roslyn piled it on with a broad-based attack in which Liam Sercombe, Nathan Wilkie, Tennessee Kinghorn and Reid Hulleman all scored, and keeper Tom Stevens kept a clean sheet.
Green Island also had a spread of scorers, but super striker Max Johnston led the attack with a personal tally of five goals. Big Matt Brazier joined in with a hat-trick and Finn Kelly (2), Tom Milton and Tyler McCallion completed the 12-0 thrashing of Waihopai.
In Queenstown, Rovers showed no mercy against Mornington as Elliot Gardner hit a hat-trick and Petr Seda (2), Daniel De Souza and Jan Kumar also scored for a 4-nil lead at halftime and an eventual 7-0 win.
Melchester Rovers were swamped 6-0 at Tahuna Park as Dunedin Technical's Tom Peterson scored after five minutes and Kalib Bouma-Tucker (2), Michael Neaverson, George McCall and Cam Higgins completed the rout.
Up in Timaru, the travelling Queens Park side held West End to a 2-2 halftime scoreline, but Daniel Campbell completed his hat-trick and Raul Atenas and Tyler Cox joined in for the eventual 5-2 win to West End.
Roslyn-Wakari's women's side cruised into the next round of the national Knock Out Cup with a dominant 10-nil win over Green Island's young side at Ellis Park.
