Rob Elliot believes Carlisle United's opening day defeat to Worthing provides an important lesson for his side, despite the Head Coach taking plenty of positives from the Blues' performance at Brunton Park.
United took a 1-0 lead through Georgie Kelly and dominated large periods of the first-half, but Worthing fought back to claim a 3-2 victory.
Elliot was frustrated with the result but believes his side's performance showed plenty of promise.
He said: "It's disappointing, really disappointing the result. I think we started brilliantly first-half. I don't think they got into our box or had a shot.
"Second-half, I warned the lads it's a dangerous scoreline. When you've been so dominant, they've got nothing to lose.
"We lost our way a little bit after about 65 minutes. Normally, that's where you get punished in football. You can dominate, have 20 or 30 shots, but the opposition can have three and score three goals."
The Head Coach felt the game could have been put beyond Worthing before half-time, with greater ruthlessness in front of goal potentially changing the outcome.
"If we're more ruthless in the first-half and take all the opportunities, I think the game's put to bed.
"At 1-0, I told the lads it's a dangerous scoreline. They've hung in and we haven't been ruthless enough.
"It's a learning curve for us. The lads have been superb, so let's not criticise them too much in terms of their effort and energy."
Elliot was also pleased with the way his side's structure and pressing worked during the opening stages, particularly given the limited availability within the squad.
"We've had 12 first team players available pretty much for the last two weeks, and we were fortunate enough to get a few back.
"There are people lacking fitness, but ultimately, I think we know we're better than the scoreline suggests.
"In terms of dominating the game, the structure and the shape, it was brilliant first-half. It was excellent and we've seen what this team can be."
One of the major positives was Kelly's two-goal performance, with Elliot delighted by the striker's display after taking on greater responsibility following an injury to Luke Armstrong.
"Georgie's been superb.
"In pre-season, we've done a lot of work with him, just talking about the positions that he gets into. I think the first goal is exactly what we want in terms of the positions we need Georgie.
"When he gets chances, he puts them away. I thought his overall play was excellent, his press, everything.
"The second one is that poacher's finish, being in the middle of the goal. So really pleased for him."
Elliot also praised Harvey Bunker for his contribution to Kelly's second goal, with the midfielder delivering an excellent ball from an advanced position.
"Harvey's a fantastic footballer. The positive is the lads who've come in have really improved us.
"Harvey shows what a character he is. He's calm, he's confident, he knows the system and he knows where Georgie is. It was a brilliant ball in from him."
The Head Coach was encouraged by the impact of the summer additions, with Bunker and fellow new arrival Miguel Azeez among those to impress.
"Miggy (Miguel Azeez) and Harvey [Bunker] are two good additions. The shape, the structure and the press were brilliant.
"We were aggressive, we were high and we got after them. They didn't really break through us too often.
"Second-half, we got a bit sloppy and tired, and the lads were cramping up. We had to make changes, but we still had to keep the attacking lads on because we were chasing the game."
Looking ahead, Elliot identified greater composure and ruthlessness around the box as key areas for improvement.
"Most of it's fine. It's more a case of making sure we're a bit better on set pieces and having more ruthlessness around the box.
"Whether it's playing the extra pass to get the goal, getting shots off more consistently or taking that extra touch.
"There were times we rushed the shot. On the first day, the nerves and anticipation are going to play a part. As the season goes on, hopefully there's more composure to take that touch and find the finish."
Elliot also expects opponents to adopt similar tactics when visiting Brunton Park, with teams looking to frustrate United and make the most of limited opportunities.
"The worst that could have happened has happened. Now we need to learn and evolve from it.
"I think it's a really good learning experience for how teams will come here and try to frustrate us.
"Other than the scoreline, there aren't loads of issues."
There was also some positive news on the injury front, with Kenton Richardson expected to return to availability and Brad Nicholson making his return from injury as a late substitute.
"Hopefully we've got more lads on the grass. Kents (Kenton Richardson) will hopefully complete his work over the weekend and he'll be available.
"Brad, obviously, it was good to get him on the pitch. We saw his throw and his aggression in terms of winning headers, so we'll assess it from there and see where everyone's at."
Despite the disappointment, Elliot is determined to use the defeat as motivation ahead of next weekend's trip to Yeovil Town.
"I'm trying to pretend I'm not angry and I'm not frustrated, but I'm also not pleased. I've got mixed emotions because I thought overall it was really good.
"We're here to achieve. We know what we want to achieve and we want to be aggressive doing it.
"I thought we were, but we've also got to be ruthless and clinical in the way we go about it. That's not just the forward players scoring, that's everything in terms of the structure and the press.
"Overall, I thought it was good, but we need to make sure we're even better next week."
