THERE'S no getting away from the fact that it's not been a great opening week for Grimsby Town.
The curtain-raising draw against recently-relegated Bristol Rovers was – all things considered – undoubtedly a solid start.
Two wins, or at least four points, from the double header of home games that followed, and it would be viewed an excellent opening to the Conference campaign.
But things haven't gone to plan.
First Nuneaton came to Blundell Park and parked the bus before climbing back onboard to travel home with a point.
But things would be definitely different against winless – and previously goalless – Dover Athletic, right? No, as it turned out.
After Paddy McLaughlin had scored Town's first goal of the campaign – thanks to a huge deflection off Jon-Paul Pittman – many thought that Paul Hurst's side had avoided making it three draws on the trot.
But after the snake-hipped Christian Nanetti danced his way through the Town defence, he played in Matt Lock to equalise and evoke what has already become an all-too familiar feeling of frustration. It could have got even worse for Hurst as a game his side should really have won, became a game they so nearly lost.
Andrew Boyce's pull back on Nathan Elder looked soft, but the referee saw enough to point to the spot and up stepped Nanetti to compound Town's misery.
Or so we thought, until James McKeown leapt to his right and pawed away the diminutive Italian's effort to preserve the point and perhaps the only positive from Town's first three games.
Granted, they are already six points behind the early pace-setters but they are, at least, unbeaten and look relatively solid at the back – even without the injured Aswad Thomas.
Saturday's back three of Toto Nsiala, Shaun Pearson and Andrew Boyce is arguably the strongest in the league, while Hurst has good options for the full-back berths.
After being stripped of first- team regulars through injury and suspensions at the start of the season, Town are almost back up to a full complement.
An energetic 20-minute cameo by the returning Jon-Paul Pittman was one of few positives for Town against Dover.
Jack Mackreth – a signing welcomed by fans in the summer – is also back from injury, while Scott Neilson is available after serving his three-match suspension.
Hurst now has a free week in which to regroup and reinvigorate his squad for what looks, on current form at least, a daunting return to Gateshead's International Stadium at the weekend.
Following that is Bank Holiday Monday's visit of Alfreton Town and a trip to Aldershot to round off the first month of the campaign.
Regardless of results from those three games, there will still be 40 remaining of the season.
But Hurst – and plenty of others – will know it's imperative that Town will need to have dragged themselves out of their early-season rut by then.
