The Oldham Athletic youth team were beaten 1-0 by Notts County and were knocked out of the Youth Alliance Cup.
The young Latics, who won the competition last season with victory over MK Dons in the final, fell to a resilient County side after a first half strike.
The Magpies had a chance to extend their lead in the second half from the penalty spot but Chris Renshaw saved to keep his side in the game.
Latics pressed their opponents but could not manage to force the equaliser and they were knocked out of the cup at the first round stage.
Speaking about the game, manager Tony Philliskirk said: "It was disappointing to go out of the cup we won last year. We went to Notts County last week and won well and we knew they would be different opposition this week and it proved the point.
"They were very aggressive, stopped us playing and made it difficult for our lads. Brendy [Glackin] had scored four the week before so they man marked him and although we won 5-0 the week before, that wasn’t a true reflection on the game as it was a lot tighter.
"We could not build up any momentum which was frustrating. We missed a golden opportunity at 0-0 and then they went up the other end to give them the lead and then they had something to hold on to.
"On the day, however, it was an ugly game but you have to say the best team won. It was disappointing to go out in that manner but the lads gave 100%, like they do every week but we just lacked real quality in the final third.
"It’s a learning curve for the team. We take the result on the chin and we will hopefully learn by it.”