DARLINGTON TOWN began their new life in the Northern League Second Division in great style thanks to a second half hat-trick by Liam Jarvie in their 4-2 win at FC Hartlepool.

The newcomers, who were promoted as Wearside League champions, trailed to a first-half goal, but Jarvie, who was signed from NPL East club Newton Aycliffe during the summer, took command with a treble, with Lewis Walton scoring the other goal.

Manager Nathan Wilson said: “Liam was superb, you could see that he’s played at this level and higher before. We made a couple of changes at half-time, dug in a bit in the second half, and our fitness told.

“Everybody was very pleased to get a good result in our first game, but we won’t be getting carried away.”

In the First Division, West Auckland, who lost in the play-off final last season, beat Seaham Red Star 3-0.

Centre-half Gary Brown put them into a sixth-minute lead, then last season’s leading scorer, Josh Scott, scored twice in the last four minutes.

Manager Gary Forrest said: “It was a great win for the first game of the season. We were pleased  with the performance.”

Shildon, who lost to West Auckland in the play-off semi final last season, won 1-0 at West Allotment thanks to a 78th-minute goal by Andrei Ardilean.

Manager Chris Hughes said: “Three points are all that matter on the opening day. We played well in the game and had plenty of chances to score more than we did. We face another tough game at Tow Law on Tuesday night.”

Northallerton, with new manager Jason Newall in charge of his first game, lost 3-1 at home to Guisborough.

Joe Pickett gave Guisborough an early lead which was quickly cancelled out by Harry Croft. Jason Blackburn and Kurtis Howes scored twice in two minutes in the second half.

“I thought we more than matched them,” said Newall. “There are fine lines in football and we switched off for five minutes. There was only one player in our starting XI from last season. We have come a long way in a short space of time and will get better. They’re a top-five team also. We’ve got a few lads catching up with fitness, so the future is positive.”

Crook Town started with a 2-0 defeat at Boro Rangers, who scored through Louie Hall after 30 minutes and Stuart Rose in the last minute.

Crook boss Mattie Thompson said: “It was a really competitive game, I thought the scoreline didn’t reflect how tight the game was. However, it’s about taking chances and they took their chance then we gifted them a goal with the last kick of the game. It’s great to be back, we’re looking forward to see what we can achieve together.”

Tow Law lost 2-0 to Carlisle City at Ironworks Road, the visitors scoring through Jay Kelly and Callum Birdsall.

Elsewhere in the First Division, newcomers Marske United had a good 2-1 win at promoted Newcastle Blue Star, while Second Division champions Blyth Town beat Newcastle Benfield 4-2. Kendal, who were moved across from the North West Counties League, lost 4-0 at Redcar Athletic.

In the Second Division, Esh Winning had a good 2-1 win at Billingham Town with goals by Joe Bates and Charlie Twinn.

Chester-le-Street United lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland West End, while Chester-le-Street Town won 2-0 at Thornaby.