YORK Acorn's hopes of a top-four finish suffered a setback when they went down 22-6 at Normanton Knights – one of their main rivals.

But Acorn can have no qualms about their first defeat in six Kingstone Press National Conference League Division One games because they didn't perform anywhere near the level that they can, and the hosts out-enthused them in key areas.

Acorn struggled to cope with the big Normanton outfit on a tight pitch, and it was the physicality of their hosts that held sway, especially in the first half.

The visiting forwards lacked their usual penetrative power and drive, and far too often coughed up possession early in the tackle count, while their backs couldn't find the cutting edge needed to unlock a stubborn home defence.

Far too often, Acorn seemed to run out of ideas close to the Wakefield side's try line, and their tactical kicking game seemed rushed and lacked cohesion.

Unfortunately when this happens, players start to do things that they aren't meant to do, and this just added to the disruptive nature of Acorn's performance.

Defensively, Acorn missed far too many tackles, especially down their right-hand edge defence and, to be truthful, they conceded three soft tries in the first half, two of which were converted.

Acorn's only response in a poor first-half showing came on 36 minutes, when stand-off Lewis Lord broke down the blindside in the Normanton 20 before releasing centre Mark Sanderson, who stormed over for a try which full back Matt Chilton improved with an excellent touchline conversion.

The second half was a catalogue of half-chances for Acorn, but all too often they didn't convert these into real opportunities.

To rub salt into their wounds, the hosts crashed over for a converted score late on to seal their win and move them to within a single point of fourth-placed Acorn with two games to go.

Acorn's play-off destiny is still in their own hands, and they have a vastly superior points difference over seventh-placed Ince Rose Bridge, but they still need to bounce back for next week's home clash with Hunslet Warriors.

Mathematically, Acorn need one more win to be sure of a play-ff spot, while two wins would secure them a home draw.

Hunslet Warriors are virtually down, needing to win both of their final two games while hoping that Hull Dockers lose their final two.