THEIR results so far suggest otherwise, but nobody ever said it was going to be easy for Darlington.

Their first four months in the Ebac Northern League have gone far better than anyone could have hoped for, winning 19 games out of 21 before Saturday, which is why most observers expected them to record number 20 at the weekend.

Their 18th-placed opposition had won only one of their previous 12 matches, however, Team Northumbria had other ideas. The university side taught Quakers a lesson: Never assume a thing.

After events of recent years no Darlington supporter could ever be accused of ever expecting life to be simple, but losing to a team with an average attendance of 67 is a jarring thought, a reminder how far they have fallen.

There were almost 500 in attendance at Coach Lane, most of whom were stunned at seeing Darlington defeated in the league for only the third time.

Having created so many scoring chances, though, Martin Gray’s outlook remained positive, the manager doing his utmost to look on the bright side.

His team remain top of the table where there have been since the opening weeks of the season, and he rejected the suggestion that his players were casual in their approach.

“We created a lot of chances, but it was just one of them days when it wouldn’t go in. We’re still top of the league,” he said.

“Nobody wins the league in November, but we’ve put ourselves into a great position when you consider that four months ago we didn’t even have a team. We’ve had a fantastic start to the season.

“We stick together through the good and the bad and what’s important now is how we react to this, starting with Guisborough on Friday night.

“We’ve got a great team of staff off the pitch and we’ll work hard on keeping the players positive.”

The game was evenlymatched in the first 45 minutes when Darlington were a little laboured in possession and both teams missed chances.

Amar Purewal and David Dowson wasted one-on-one opportunities while Stephen Thompson directed a header too close to keeper Andy Jennison, who was in top form.

For the hosts, forward Peter Watling was always a threat and he drew a smart save from Craig Turns that resulted in the keeper having to leave the field after suffering a dislocated shoulder.

He went to hospital and is expected to be out of action for at least a month, making a bad day even worse for Darlington.

Jack Norton was sent for the final minute of the first half, but within seconds of the restart he was picking the ball out of the net.

A series of passes inside Darlington’s half ended when Ben Sayer played a perfectlyweighted pass for Watling to run on to and slot home.

The goal meant Darlington have now conceded in 13 successive league games, clearly a cause for concern.

In most weeks, despite a failure to keep clean sheets, Quakers have found goals easy to come by, but on Saturday a combination of poor finishing and stubborn defending denied Darlington.

Gray’s team piled forward and for lengthy periods the ball did not leave the home team’s half, resulting in every player on the pitch except Norton being in TN’s third.

Dowson flashed a volley wide, Jennison saved when sub Adam Nicholls dribbled into the penalty area and he also went full-stretch to deny Gary Brown as Darlington failed to score in the league for the first time this season, a testament to Team North’s rearguard action.