After an encouraging away draw on Saturday, Cleator Moor Celtic slumped to a 3-0 home defeat by play-off chasing Steeton last night.
James Hobden put the visitors ahead after 22 minutes and the lead was doubled early in the second half with the help of an own goal. Hobden grabbed his second goal three minutes from the end.
The defeat leaves Celtic nine points from safety at the foot of the North West Counties Premier Division table.
Celtic boss Brian Dawson said: “It’s beginning to feel like Groundhog Day to be honest.
“We matched our visitors in terms of performance but individual mistakes are costing us dearly. We got caught on the ball in dangerous areas for the first two goals, something we need to learn from quickly.
“We missed a penalty at 2-0 to get us back into it and then got punished late on as we pushed for a consolation.
“Given where we are in terms of our average age we are constantly coming up against teams who understand the dark arts of the game better than us, whether that’s appealing for decisions, buying cheap fouls, running the clock down etc, etc.
“We need to start learning this side of the game.”
Celtic are at home again on Saturday when mid-table Atherton LR are the visitors. They are 18 points better off than the west Cumbrians, from two extra matches.
