THERE was no mistaking that familiar sinking feeling when first-day excitement turned to deflation before half-time.

This was a reality check for Darlington.

For all the alterations that have been made in the past four months the mistakes made during an enthusiasm-shattering first 45 minutes of the season were as bad as anything witnessed under Tommy Wright.

Farsley Celtic led 3-0 at the break, each goal owing much to basic Darlington errors and before you knew it the season had started with a sobering defeat from which lessons must be learned.

While it’s tempting to dismiss errors in the early stages of a season as inevitable teething problems following a summer overhaul, if last season taught Darlington anything it is that they should not simply gloss over weaknesses with some vague hope that the team will come good.

Errors on the first day 12 months ago were made in a home defeat to Curzon Ashton, and by the end of August Quakers were 18th in the table.

Alun Armstrong retains confidence in his players, one bad 45 minutes was not going to alter his view and the positive pre-season performances remain fresh in the memory, but he pulled no punches.

“You’re hoping you’ve got mistakes out of the way early, but I’m not accepting that first-half performance ever again,” he said.

“There’s enough in that dressing room to win games of football, we know that. But we gifted them goals, they didn’t do anything to score a goal, they were gifts and that’s the most disappointing thing.

“The second half was much better, but the first half was totally unacceptable and they know that.

“We’ve got to be better. We’ve been basing everything on a sold back four with two midfielders sitting in front and it’s been really good. So this has caught us off guard a bit and it’s up to me to get it right.”

There were nine debutants, seven in the starting line-up, and unfamiliarity should be taken into account as a mitigating factor, while newly-promoted Farsley have momentum.

Plus, being without David Atkinson’s solidity in midfield was a blow.

To Armstrong’s credit, knowing any comment could be interpreted as an excuse, he was also reluctant to discuss the appalling playing surface at The Citadel, which is the grand title given to what was once known as Throstle Nest.

That Rotherham United refused to play a friendly recently – cancelling an hour before kick-off – says something for the condition of a pitch that was rutted and seemingly having not seen a lawnmower in weeks.

Same for both teams, of course, and the pitch could not be blamed for Darlington’s defensive errors, the first by Louis Laing.

His pass was intercepted by Tyler Walton whose rising drive from 20 yards made it 1-0 with just ten minutes gone.

The officials made errors too. Farsley regained possession for the goal when Jarrett Rivers was sent to the ground, referee Ed Duckworth incorrectly playing on.

At one stage Duckworth awarded Farsley a farcical free-kick because Armstrong caught the ball after it bounced out of play, an incident Quakers manager claimed that the referee later admitted got wrong.

A simple ball over top, by a Farsley a defender allowed time to pick a pass, caught Quakers napping and in nipped unmarked Nathan Cartman, the Yorkshire terrier, to force home for 2-0 with less than 20 minutes played.

Too many players refuse to celebrate scoring against their former clubs, instead demonstrating a mawkish act of sportsmanship, so it was refreshing to see Cartman enjoy the moment.

Darlington didn’t, of course, and they almost conceded again when Laing was bullied by James Spencer while defending a free-kick from deep, and it needed Chris Elliott to save from Will Hayhurst.

But it was 3-0 before half-time with an embarrassing goal to concede, Farsley’s long throw bouncing inside the penalty area before Spencer had freedom to poke home.

While Darlington had their moments and were much-improved in the second half, moving the ball around nicely despite the combined forces of Farsley and the pitch, there was too much to do.

Darlington striker Adam Campbell scored the best goal of the day, a clean strike from the corner of the penalty area on 64 minutes, and while it did not affect the result he at least does not have to worry about breaking his duck.

Next up is Gateshead at Blackwell Meadows on Wednesday.

Armstrong added: “They’ve had their off day, it doesn’t happen again. These fans deserve an awful lot more. There was around 700 here, you could hear them and I was gutted as them. I was fuming at half-time.

“I wanted to get off to a good start but it didn’t happen, so we’ve got to stick together.

“Wednesday is a massive game for us now. I know it’s early in the season, but we’ve got to show these fans what we’re capable of and I’ve got no qualms that these lads will do that.”