EVERY cloud has a silver lining.
And while this was largely a big, dirty, black cloud of a Halifax performance, there were consolations as Barrow's equally surprising reverse at Batley allowed the Shay side to slip a point clear at the top of the table after a gutsy second half comeback secured a bonus point.
Such a relatively positive outcome didn't always seem possible.
Matt Calland's side had compounded last weekend's Northern Rail Cup exit with an ineffectual first half effort against Steve McCormack's Gateshead Thunder.
After 40 minutes at the International Stadium, the Thunder led by a scarcely believable 32-0 after running riot from virtually the first minute against some paper thin defence.
Most people would agree second-from-bottom Thunder, bolstered by the recent arrival of another battery of Australian talent to add to their apparently limitless overseas quota, had started the day in a false position in the table.
Equally, anyone who watched the one-sided first half here might have assumed that Fax's occupation of top spot was equally misleading.
But by the final whistle, those opinions would have been reversed again as the visitors dominated the second period - although without ever being at their scintillating best - running in five tries and, in the end, leaving their hosts, whose sole post-interval points came from a Michael Knowles penalty, rather fortunate to finish in the winners' circle.
It all added up to a surreal and frustrating contest, with the potential damage to Fax's title challenge only tempered by the news that the Raiders had sunk without trace at Mount Pleasant, leaving Calland's side in the clear, albeit by a smaller margin than they would have liked.
Even in the spring, when they were on the wrong end of a 70-point drubbing at the Shay, Gateshead had scored 30-odd points, underlining their status as one of the better footballing teams in the competition, even if the rest of their game wasn't up to the same standard.
With half back Luke Branighan pulling the strings, Fax knew this team could play.
Which made the space they afforded them from the opening exchanges onwards all the more baffling.
So much of the damage was done from the play the ball, where Gateshead's willingness to put three or four players into every tackle slowed Fax down to a crawl.
On the other hand, Fax seemed powerless to prevent the quick plays that allowed Branighan and his scrumbase partner Russell Aitken to dominate.
They still needed a few pieces of individual misjudgement to help their cause - the usually reliable Jon Goddard leaving an Aitken kick in the build up to centre Dylan Nash's second-minute score and Miles Greenwood spilling a towering bomb for Branighan to touch down on 20 minutes.
But in between Gateshead produced some neat football as Nash completed a hat trick, Jamie Cording ploughed over for a second on the left and winger Ben McAlpine scored in the corner, with Knowles' boot accounting for the rest of the tally.
As for Fax, they threatened sporadically - back rower Mark Roberts unceremoniously butchering their best chance when he went for glory rather than pass to an unmarked Shad Royston - but generally looked a shadow of the attacking force they were a couple of months ago.
The arrival of half time then changed everything.
Fax emerged chastened but energised. Gateshead looked, frankly, nervous and a little bit scared.
And with good reason.
Fax scored twice in the opening seven minutes, Mark Gleeson gliding over from dummy half before Greenwood darted over from a Sean Penkywicz pass.
Lee Paterson added both conversions to make it 32-12 and the Thunder betrayed their own mindset when Knowles opted to twice kick for goal soon after rather than run the ball.
The first missed and the second found the mark for 34-12, but as an invitation to run a team down, it could not have been much clearer. Penkywicz set the ball rolling, twice scoring trademark touchdowns near the posts and allowing Paterson to cut the gap to 34-24 with nine minutes remaining.
At that stage, Fax were almost favourites to go on and win, Penkywicz being held inches short and referee Craig Halloran, who has surely enjoyed better afternoons, waving away Goddard's claims for a try from Govin's kick on the next play.
Time was running out by now, but even with three minutes to go, Fax weren't done, Rob Worrincy showing speed and composure to score from Penkywicz's near length-of-the-field punt straight from a scrum on his own line.
Even with Paterson slicing the kick, Fax were within sight of a remarkable draw.
That proved beyond them though, leaving them to rue their horror start to this match.

Star Man
Sean Penkywicz was a late call up for this game after his wife gave birth to their second child at the end of last week.
But Halifax would have been glad their captain turned up for duty after one of his better performances in an inconsistent season.
Penkywicz spelled danger for the Gateshead defence every time he touched the ball, plundering metres almost at will and distributing the ball crisply and accurately.
Two second half tries, two assists and another close call that might have tipped the game the visitors' way say everything about the standard of his contribution and earn him three points in the season long Star Man competition into the bargain.
Another hooker, Mark Gleeson takes the two after causing similar mayhem in the Thunder rearguard.
Like Penkywicz, Gleeson's speed was a thorn in the Thunders side and his passing and defensive workrate were up to their usual quality.
The final point goes to Frank Watene, for a real blockbusting effort in the front row.
With Fax opting for just two specialist front rowers in Watene and Said Tamghart - Dave Larder filled the other starting spot - the big Kiwi had to shoulder some extra work.
And he did with some terrific charging runs as Fax's comeback gathered pace after the interval.

Match Facts
Gateshead: Nick Youngquest; Ben McAlpine, Dylan Nash, Paul Franze, Stewart Sanderson; Russ Aitken, Luke Branighan; Nathan Massey, Andrew Henderson, Ryan McBride, Michael Knowles, Jamie Cording, Kris Kahler. Subs: Liam Watts, Matt Barron, Anthony England, Neil Thorman
Halifax: Miles Greenwood; Lee Paterson, Jon Goddard, James Haley, Rob Worrincy; Bob Beswick, Mick Govin; Said Tamghart, Sean Penkywicz, David Larder, Paul Smith, Andy Bowman, Shad Royston. Subs: Dwayne Barker, Mark Gleeson, Mark Roberts, Frank Watene
Referee: Craig Halloran (Dewsbury)
Attendance: 1,000 (estimated)

Player Points
Mark Gleeson 16, Sean Penkywicz 12, Matt James 11, Bob Beswick 11, Said Tamghart 10, Miles Greenwood 9, Frank Watene 9, Ben Black 7, Lee Paterson 7, Rob Worrincy 7, Shad Royston 5, David Larder 5, Mark Roberts 3, Dana Wilson 3, Paul Smith 2, James Haley 1, Mick Govin 1, Jon Goddard 1