WARRINGTON Town’s final home game of the National League North campaign ended in defeat on Saturday.

The difficult form on home soil continued for Mark Beesley’s men as Hereford beat them 2-1 to inflict a fifth consecutive home defeat.

A poor first half gave Town a mountain to climb, with Lewis Hudson’s early opener for the Bulls added to just before the break by Andy Williams’ finish on the counter-attack.

Josh Amis did pull a goal back – his first strike since New Year’s Day – early in the second half to give Town a foothold, but a controversial red card for Matt Grivosti shortly afterwards killed any chance of gaining momentum.

Warrington Guardian: Josh Amis scores for TownJosh Amis scores for Town (Image: Sean Walsh)

Read Matt Turner's verdict on the action below

THIS game was further evidence that Warrington Town have simply run out of steam.

Their difficult end to the campaign – particularly on home soil – continued against a Hereford side who simply had to win to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Was that motivation alone the difference? Perhaps not, but it meant they came out with a desperation and purpose that Town struggled to live with in the first half.

While they deserve credit for hanging in there to the point the game was still alive until the end, they were comfortably second best.

Given their squad situation currently – they were without the suspended Jay Harris and the injured Connor Woods and Dec Walker for this one – it is perhaps understandable that they are quite literally limping over the finish line.

They will now lose Matt Grivosti to suspension for the final game of the season, somewhat unfortunately in the view of many – while ill-advised, his challenge on Lewis Hudson being deemed worthy of a red card was one of a number of mystifying decisions made by referee Jon Chadwick.

It should be stressed that Town cannot lay the blame for their fifth consecutive home defeat at the officials’ door – they were beaten by the better and more dangerous side on the day – but Grivosti’s sending-off killed any chance of building towards a crescendo after Josh Amis had pulled a goal back with a well-worked strike.

That allowed them to complete half the battle after a first half in which they were overwhelmed at times, with Hereford’s wide men Tope Obadeyi and Yusifu Ceesay causing no end of problems.

They could have been further ahead by the time Andy Williams struck their second goal but the way in which it came about – on the counter-attack mere seconds after Grivosti had seen Town’s best chance cleared off the line – will sting as much as its timing of just two minutes before the interval.

So while this has been a superb first season at Step Two that deserves to be celebrated, it is finishing in somewhat low-key fashion and their home form is undeserving of the superb crowds that have been flooding through the gates of Cantilever Park.

And now, they will have to wait several months to give their home faithful something to cheer.

Warrington Town: Atherton, Hannigan, Gumbs, Williams, Amis, McDonald, Eze (Gill), Buckley-Ricketts (Pasiek), Wisdom, Grivosti, Clarke. Subs not used: O’Keefe, Brooks