A 30-minute dressing-room lock-in after the final whistle told its own story on Boxing Day as the Motormen's dismal run continued with defeat against the league's basement club.

The loss plunged Vauxhall into the bottom three and manager Owen Brown was angry.

He said: 'I'm very, very disappointed. We started well and looked comfortable for the first 20 minutes, but Burscough scored a goal totally out of the blue and it went downhill from there onwards. We still keep shooting ourselves in the foot. I don't think I've ever been so annoyed in a dressing room as I was today.'

In the opening 15 minutes, Vauxhall had the hosts pinned inside their own half but could not find a way through, during which time Hugh McAuley fired a free kick just wide of an upright. Terry Fearns also went close as he beat the home side's offside trap, but as he rounded keeper Dave Newnes, the custodian's outstretched leg just did enough to enable one of his defenders to clear the danger.

Burscough took the lead on 24 minutes in spectacular fashion as a quick free kick out of defence found Marvin Molyneux on the right touchline, and he unleashed a stunning 40-yard drive that sailed into the net via the far post.

On 35 minutes, Molyneux's marker Carl Spell-man became the first Vauxhall player to be sent off since Peter Cumiskey received his marching orders 21 months ago at Gainsborough as he picked up a second booking.

Just before the break, Vauxhall's former Burscough skipper Carl Macauley was forced to make a clearance only yards from the goal line, but within seconds, Connell produced an unstoppable volley to beat Mike Kinsella from 25 yards.

A third Burscough goal followed five minutes after the restart as Mike White powered home a header from beyond the far post, following a corner.

On 61 minutes, a cute free kick from Carl Nesbitt picked out Fearns and his smart footwork enabled the striker to wriggle past one defender and squeeze the ball into the corner of the net, but it was only a consolation strike.

Vauxhall: Kinsella, Spellman, Macauley, Robinson, McAuley (Ward 42), Lynch (McCann 75), Nesbitt, Lawton, Fearns, Whelan, Cumiskey (Rey