Grimsby Town could not stop the rot in their last match before Christmas as they fell to a 2-0 defeat away at Bromley on Saturday.
A Will Hondermarck double preserved Bromley's undefeated record at home this term and made it eight without a win in the league for David Artell's hapless Town team.
The Mariners turned to the emergency loan system again to bring in a goalkeeper due to Christy Pym's unavailability through injury, this time looking to a familiar face in Jackson Smith.
The Barnsley stopper had come on an emergency loan last term for Town when both their first-team goalkeepers went down with injury, and he ended up staying on for seven games during which he made a good impression.
Sam Lavelle also made a return to action from injury as Town and came into the starting line-up straight away to replace Reece Staunton, with Cameron McJannet shifting out to left-back as Town stuck with a back four.
Justin Amaluzor was handed a rare league start as well, with a straight swap for Darragh Burns in the right wing position.
Town had a tall backline on the pitch, no doubt to deal with Bromley's aerial threat from set-pieces, but Town were beaten in the air in their own box, which set up the opener, as Mitchell Pinnock's volley cross was headed into the path of Hondermarck to score.
There was a scramble in the Bromley box minutes later from a corner, which could have produced a quick reply for Town, but Grant Smith gratefully scooped up the loose ball in the end as no one could apply the finishing touch.
A well-timed slide tackle from Kyle Cameron stopped Jaze Kabia from having a one-on-one with the goalkeeper after Kieran Green had pounced on the bouncing ball to slide the latter through.
There was no response in the end from Town in the first half as their frustrations continued with Bromley's opener, making it six goals conceded from the last six shots on target faced for Artell's side.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, their task of ending their winless run was made much more difficult just ten minutes into the second half, as Marcus Ifill skipped past the challenge of Charles Vernam, playing the ball across the box to Hondermarck to score his and his team's second goal.
It could have got worse for Town as Smith was caught off his line when the ball was lost at the back, with the stand-in Grimsby goalkeeper seeming to just about stop the ball going over his goal line as Corey Whitely quickly got a shot away.
Kabia was still searching for a first league goal since September, and he headed over a Jamie Walker cross as the game ticked into the final 20 minutes.
Hondermarck had a good chance to make it a hat-trick on the break as Town threw caution to the wind in the final ten minutes, with Artell bringing on fresh legs in the attacking areas to try and force a change, but to no avail.
It was another game where Town controlled the territory for long spells and threatened to create clear-cut opportunities, but they did not fall, and lacklustre defending was once again the theme of the two goals conceded.