YORK Acorn ARLC are within one win of a home play-off tie in National Conference League division one after finally getting the better of stubborn visitors Hunslet Warriors, who, in contrast, were relegated.

The clincher in a 24-16 win was a storming 75th-minute try by centre Matty Downes who left four would-be tacklers lying on the ground.

Up to that point, a see-saw encounter had been in the balance.

The game had started poorly for Acorn as it seemed they were suffering from the blues of defeat against Normanton Knights, and the visitors enjoyed plenty of territorial advantage in the opening 15 minutes.

During this period, Acorn’s excellent try-line defence had to repeatedly repel back-to-back sets.

The big surprise was that Acorn only conceded one score, and that came after four minutes when prop Luke Day crashed over, full-back Gary McClelland converting.

Acorn hit back after 17 minutes, when scrum-half Lewis Brown expertly put second-rower and captain Tom Hill through a huge gap from 10 yards out. Stand-off Matthew Chilton converted.

Acorn had their chances to take the lead but either forced the pass or took the wrong option – a theme that blighted their performance over the 80 minutes.

But just when it seemed the sides would go in level at the interval, Acorn bagged a brace of crucial tries.

After 37 minutes, a superbly-floated crossfield kick by substitute stand-off Anthony Chilton – who’d replaced his injured brother Matthew midway through the half – was touched on to centre Ryan Gallacher by winger Josh Thompson, and he crossed for an unconverted try to put Acorn 10-6 up.

Within a matter of moments, Acorn had stretched that lead to 14-6 when excellent approach play was eventually taken up by Brown, who then squeezed out a cut-out pass to Gallacher, who was hugging the touchline and finished expertly in the corner.

Both sides knew the importance of the next score, and the game became tense, with Acorn being well served throughout by prop forwards Tim Stubbs, who was their man of the match, and Adam Endersby.

Both put in colossal stints, while winger Jack Stewart caught the eye with several powerful pressure-relieving runs from deep.

Acorn notched what they had hoped was the game-securing score on the hour when Chilton produced a piece of individual magic, putting in a clever reverse kick close to the Warriors’ line before chasing through to touch down. He also added the extras.

The hosts were now leading 20-6 with only a quarter of the match to play, but Hunslet decided to give it one final effort, and it nearly paid off as they came close to snatching victory with back-to-back tries.

After 69 minutes, a break on halfway by experienced loose-forward Caldon Bravo down Acorn’s right-edge enabled him to put centre Chris Hartley in for an unconverted try.

Then the nerves really started to jangle for the home side when prop Luke Day strode over under the posts for a crucial try which McClelland converted to make it 20-16.

Acorn’s response, however, was to give the ball to the impressive Downes, whose piece of magic secured his side the win.

Other notable contributions for Acorn came from their powerful running full-back Mark Sanderson and second-rower Brandon Harris.

Acorn know they will need to give a much more polished performance in attack if they are to beat third-from-bottom Featherstone Lions in their final league game on Saturday, September 30 and earn a home draw.

The Lions go into the game needing a win, while hoping Hull Dockers lose at Normanton if they are to avoid relegation.

Featherstone travelled to second-placed Underbank Rangers and secured a surprisingly easy 37-16 win, which follows on from their shock wins at home to Milford Marlins recently and at Acorn earlier in the campaign.

Yet three games ago the Lions were beaten at bottom-of-the-table Blackbrook, reflecting the unpredictable nature of this league.