The road to the 2026-27 Clearer Water Irish Cup final began this weekend, less than 100 days after Coleraine lifted the trophy for a seventh time.
And there was no shortage of goals or talking points as the First Round got under way.
Heights' Ian Parkhill scored the competition's first goal, converting a penalty in the second minute of Friday night's victory over Glebe Rangers.
It was a memorable debut for Parkhill, who joined Heights from Limavady United during the summer.
The weekend's biggest individual haul came from Comber Rec.'s Lee Hutton, who scored four times in a 6-1 win at Bloomfield.
Hutton, a summer signing from Kelvin Old Boys, scored twice in each half to continue an impressive run of form, following on from scoring twice in a midweek league victory.
There were also hat-tricks for St Matthew's John Paul Lagan, Maiden City's Sean O'Donnell and Killyleagh YC's Declan McComiskey.
Lagan's treble was particularly significant as St Matthew's recorded their first-ever Irish Cup victory with a 5-0 win at Richhill AFC.
O'Donnell scored three as Maiden City won 5-0 away to Tullycarnet, while McComiskey also claimed the match ball in Killyleagh YC's victory over Seagoe.
Two ties went to penalties, with Crewe United and Shamrock prevailing against Valley Rangers and Larne Tech OB respectively.
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