PARDON Warrington fans for feelings of déjà vu after the latest home loss to Saints.

There were certainly shades of seasons past in the way the old enemy snatched the valuable points two minutes from time, keeping them in the hunt for top spot and denting Wolves’ hopes of a top-four finish.

Jason Hooper scored a last-minute try to break Warrington’s hearts in 2004, while Saints' current head coach Keiron Cunningham famously touched down after time had run out in 2005.

And then there were the last-gasp wins in 2005 and 2008 courtesy of drop goals by Sean Long – now Cunningham’s partner in crime in the stands.

Even the 20-16 Magic Weekend loss this year felt like a steal after Wolves had been so dominant in the first half.

This time centre Jordan Turner broke Warrington hearts as he finished off a stunning sequence started by half back Travis Burns and continued by fellow Australian Adam Quinlan in only his second game of Super League.

Wolves were at least the equal of Saints for enthusiasm, effort and commitment to the cause.

And they were the better side in the second half, with the sniping runs of Brad Dwyer, Daryl Clark and Matty Russell from dummy half putting Saints on the back foot.

But just like with the match-winning move, Saints held the edge on the number of men who produced telling plays exactly when they were needed – much of it coming in try-line defence.

Turner punched the ball from Joe Philbin’s grasp as he dived over, Mark Flanagan was a fingernail quicker than Matty Russell to clean up that lost possession, James Roby got his body under the ball when Chris Hill tried to plough over and Burns stole the ball off Ryan Atkins as the centre battled to get on the end of a Richie Myler kick.

Saints benefited from a superior kicking game though they were lucky not to join Warrington on a team warning when the first half was spoilt by messing around at the rucks that generated an 8-8 penalty count.

Wolves can take positives from knowing that tidying up a couple of little things will earn them some important wins in the remaining 10 to 12 weeks.

MATCH FACTS

Super League Round 22, Thursday, July 16, 2015

Warrington Wolves...14 St Helens...20

Wolves: Matty Russell; Kevin Penny, Stefan Ratchford, Ryan Atkins, Gene Ormsby; Gareth O'Brien, Richie Myler; Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Ashton Sims, Ben Westwood, Ben Currie, Ben Harrison. Subs: Brad Dwyer, Roy Asotasi, Anthony England, Joe Philbin.

Saints: Adam Quinlan; Matt Dawson, Mark Percival, Jordan Turner, Adam Swift; Travis Burns, Luke Walsh; Kyle Amor, James Roby, Alex Walmsley, Joe Greenwood, Jon Wilkin, Mark Flanagan. Subs: Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Mose Masoe, Andre Savelio, Greg Richards.

Scoring: Roby try, 16mins, Walsh conversion, 0-6; Walsh penalty goal, 19mins, 0-8; Currie try, 39mins, O'Brien conversion, 6-8; Penny try, 50mins, O'Brien conversion, 12-8; Masoe try, 56mins, Walsh conversion, 12-14; O'Brien penalty goal, 75mins, 14-14; Turner try, 78mins, Walsh conversion, 14-20.

Penalties: Wolves 10 Saints 8

Referee: James Child

Attendance: 11,618

Top man: Daryl Clark