Western Force coach Dave Wessels was left to rue the one that got away after watching his side suffer a 24-15 loss to the Blues in Saturday's Super Rugby clash in Auckland.
The Force dominated play for much of the opening half and trailed by just four points with 15 minutes remaining in the match.
But runaway tries to Rieko Ioane and Michael Collins sealed the win for the Blues, who improved their season record to 3-3.
Force players entered the match with a lot on their minds following intense speculation the franchise will be axed if the Super Rugby competition reverts to a 15-team format.
Wessels was pleased with the way his players handled the external turmoil.
But he couldn't help but feel frustrated after three of the Blues' four tries were the result of defensive lapses from a long way out.
"We played some really good rugby, and are just frustrated at ourselves that lapses meant we didn't win the game," Wessels said.
"Anybody who watches that game can see how much (the club) means to the players, and what a tight group they are.
"They're really fighting hard. People can see the progress from week to week.
"But we're still not happy with that. We felt for large parts of that game we were the better team."
Scrumhalf Ryan Louwrens limped off in the 10th minute after injuring his right knee, but Wessels said the setback doesn't seem serious.
His replacement Michael Ruru was lively, putting the Blues' defence on alert with some sniping runs.
The Force dominated possession and territory early in the match to catch the Blues on the hop.
A 20th-minute try to lock Richard Arnold gave the Force an 8-0 lead.
But momentum changed dramatically when No.8 Isi Naisarani was sin binned after being penalised twice within the space of a minute for offside.
The Blues scored two tries while Naisarani was off to head to half-time up 12-8.
The Force had their chances in the second half, but lacked the polish whenever a try was within sight.
In contrast, the Blues scored two brilliant tries from play that started inside their own 22, and they were only denied a bonus point when Force fullback Dane Haylett-Petty scored in the dying minutes.
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