WARRINGTON Town's final game of 2024 saw them beaten again by a side who have become something of a bogey team for them.

Yellows slipped to a Boxing Day defeat at Southport, who have now beaten them in three different competitions in recent months having ended their participation in both the FA Trophy and the Liverpool Senior Cup.

After an evenly-matched first half, Danny Lloyd lashed the hosts into the lead early in the second half at a foggy Haig Avenue, with Sonny Hilton adding a second goal just after the hour mark.

The Boxing Day clash played out in increasingly foggy conditions (Image: Sean Walsh)Read Matt Turner's verdict on the action below

JUST when they thought they could see light at the end of the tunnel, Warrington Town are sent back to the drawing board.

Having won impressively against an in-form Buxton side on Saturday, Paul Carden’s men would have sensed an opportunity to put real distance between themselves and danger but have now conceded the ground they made up at the weekend.

And as the calendar year ends, it is another disappointing case of “one step forward, two steps back.”

And this was a game they played their part in early on, with the first quarter of the game seeing them have the better of the opportunities, with Joe Rodwell-Grant seeing an effort well-saved by Chris Renshaw.

From the midway point of the second half, however, the hosts took control and, in the end, ran out deserving winners.

Jak McCourt shoots from the edge of the Southport box (Image: Sean Walsh) Southport have now proved their undoing three times this season in as many separate competitions and in truth, it was made all too easy for them.

Having done so well against Buxton, the Town midfield made no impact while Rodwell-Grant found himself easily controlled by the experienced Nat Knight-Percival.

What will frustrate Carden so much is that his side allowed their hosts to win so comfortably despite goalkeeper Dan Atherton barely being forced into a save.

The Town stopper was powerless to prevent Danny Lloyd blasting home from close range to cap an energetic start to the second half from the Sandgrounders, nor could he have been expected to stop Sonny Hilton from slotting in after Jamie Proctor’s shot was deflected into his path.

Aside from picking the ball out of his net, he was a virtual spectator but it was those in front of him who were too easily picked off by a streetwise Southport outfit.

And this was with perhaps the strongest squad Carden has been able to name, with the likes of Jay Harris, Connor Woods and Josh Amis available again to come off the bench while he had the luxury of being able to leave fully available players out of his matchday selection.

We have seen as recently as Saturday that this squad is capable of excellent results and performances at this level, but old habits die hard.

They are still too easily knocked off their stride and once they are, they find it difficult to regain it.

Is it a coaching issue, or one of mentality? Either way, it is something that needs to be rectified as we enter the new year.

Warrington Town: Atherton, Douglas, Gumbs, O’Neill, McDonald (Amis), Rodwell-Grant, Cross-Adair, Morris, McCourt (Harris), Hont (Woods), Clarke. Subs not used: Amaral, Dixon

Matty McDonald plays a pass (Image: Sean Walsh)