YORK Acorn virtually assured themselves a spot in the National Conference League division one play-offs after beating one of their nearest rivals – in-form Ince Rose Bridge – 36-18 at home.

The win leaves Acorn fourth, three points behind third-placed Milford Marlins and three in front of fifth-placed Lock Lane.

But, most importantly, Acorn are now six points clear of seventh-placed Rose Bridge with just three games to go.

Only a freak set of results will now see the Blue and Golds miss out on the play-offs, but they are after a home tie now and, on this form, are serious promotion contenders.

This match was a game of three parts, rather than a game of two halves.

The first was the opening 30 minutes, when Acorn raced into an 18-0 lead before the second stage came into play.

That period went from just before half-time to 15 minutes into the second half when Ince found the momentum to knock Acorn out of their stride to such an extent that they had drawn level at 18-18 before the third quarter.

However, in the final phase, Acorn regrouped and blew Ince away with some memorable rugby.

Acorn went into this game without several players due to wedding commitments etc, and it was one of the replacements, full back and man of the match Mark Sanderson who got them off to an excellent start when he crashed over for a second-minute try to which centre Brandon Harris added the extras.

The position had been set up when Ince made an error from the kick-off, prop Tim Stubbs going on a storming run from the scrum before the ball was switched from right to left, with Sanderson doing the rest.

Acorn made it 10-0 on 22 minutes when a dangerous-looking Ince attack was thwarted, second-rower Reece Rushworth charging down an Ince attacking kick close to the Acorn try-line before he regathered and raced 80 metres down the Acorn left for an unconverted try.

Acorn then moved into a two-score lead courtesy of a 27th-minute penalty goal from the influential Harris.

Minutes later, Acorn were on the scoreboard once again when Sanderson powered through two would-be tacklers before offloading to the supporting Harris, who crossed for a try that he converted.

Acorn possibly thought that the game was in their hands, but the warning bells should have made them refocus for the second half following a last-minute try by their man of the match, loose forward Chris Boylan, to which second rower Rob Valentine added the extras.

Leading 18-6, the opening stages of the second half were very poor for the hosts as they missed tackle after tackle, as well as dropping too much ball before compounded their errors by getting pinged for the first time for several penalty-related issues.

The visitors hit back with tries on 43 minutes through full back Peter Valentine, following a high crossfield kick which eluded Acorn's defenders, while three minutes later Boylan opened the Acorn defence with ease to stride under the posts.

Both tries were converted by Rob Valentine to level the scores with virtually a full second half to play.

Acorn were struggling to close down the visitors' dangerous attacking game, and the momentum seemed to well and truly be with the visitors.

Fortunately for Acorn, they managed to stem the tide and, more importantly, got the all- important momentum shifting next score.

On 58 minutes, the reliable combination play of half-backs Lewis Lord and Lewis Brown ended with the latter sending captain Tom Hill flying through a gap from 20 yards out for a try to which replacement goal-kicker Dan Lazenby added the extras.

A 62nd-minute Lazenby penalty goal for a high shot made it 26-18, and then came the game's magic moment for Acorn and, in particular, teenager Rushworth, who went from villain to hero in 30 seconds.

First he was guilty of a slightly late hit on former Warrington Super League forward Paul Woods close to the Acorn try line that had the ex-pro fired up and ready to take the ball straight at Rushworth from the tap penalty.

This he did, but if he thought he would find Rushworth an easy target to run over, he was greatly mistaken as it was initially Rushworth who put Woods to the floor with a perfectly- timed front-on tackle before being aided by several team-mates.

The ball popped out and the referee somewhat harshly adjudged it to be a rip.

Acorn's defence, and in particular Rushworth, earned their spurs in that moment as the visitors put the ball through the hands from the resulting penalty, and two tackles later they spilt the ball, and with it went any chance of another comeback.

The next score came on 72 minutes, when stand-off Lord squeezed in at the corner after picking the ball up from acting-half to put the hosts 30-18 in front.

Acorn were now rampant, and a thunderous break by prop forward Jack Byrnes, who raced 40 metres before falling to a last-ditch tackle, set up the position close to the opponents' try line.

From the resulting quick play-the-ball, the pill was handed on to Brown, who sent Harris in for a 76th-minute try, which the latter converted.

Others to catch the eye for the blue and golds were loose forward Tim Elliott, centre Jordan Myers and props Adam Endersby and Byrnes.

Next up for Acorn is a trip to play-off hopefuls Normanton Knights on Saturday (2.30).