YORK Acorn ARLC produced one of the shocks of the second round as they knocked higher-ranked Cumbrian amateur giants Wath Brow Hornets out of the Coral Challenge Cup.

Anthony Chilton's 79th-minute drop goal secured an intense 9-8 away win and passage to the third round, where the Blue and Golds could go toe-to-toe with a League One side.

The third-round draw will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website at 6pm on Monday evening.

It will be a memorable moment for Acorn's new head coach Josh Mortimer who, at the start of the season, set the target of reaching the third round of the cup, and has since said he and his charges believe they can compete against a lower League One side.

Chilton's kick was the only score of a defence-dominated second half where Acorn's cohesion and physicality - embodied by the outstanding loose forward Reece Rushworth with fellow pack men Matthew Woods and man-of-the-match Josh Thompson - proved the difference. Prop forwards Tom Hill, Tim Stubbs and the rejuvenated Daryl North were immense in the forward exchanges throughout, as were the efforts of centres Ryan Gallacher and Jordan Potter.

Every player contributed fully in what will go down as one of Acorn's best-ever away wins.

The game was nearly 30 minutes old before either defence was breached, when the National Conference League premier division outfit Wath Brow finally found some space on the Acorn defence's right edge to allow centre Karl Dixon to squeeze in at the corner flag for an unconverted try.

Within minutes, Acorn hit back when good approach play by Australian powerhouse forward Nathan Welsh and livewire substitute hooker Lewis Lord created the position from where Rushworth was able to crash over for a try goaled by Chilton to edge Acorn into a 6-4 lead.

But back came Wath Brow and, on 37 minutes, Dixon put wing partner Luke Davison over in the same corner before a 39th-minute Chilton penalty tied the scores up at 8-8 going into the interval.

The question at half-time was whether Acorn would be able to maintain their intensity after the restart or if Wath Brow would take the game away from the visitors. The latter looked the more likely early in the second period, as Wath Brow seemed to have NCL division one side Acorn back-pedalling for the opening 10 minutes.

With their substitute hooker Ellison Holgate starting to get the hosts very much on the front foot, it seemed only a matter of time before Acorn would succumb to the ever-increasing pressure.

But Acorn turned the tide, thanks chiefly to a resolute defence, creative tactical kicking game and overall general game management, in which half-backs Chilton and scrum-half Lewis Brown were key.

Acorn's exit sets also proved to be better-constructed than their opponents', with the visitors gradually forcing their way to the Cumbrians' try line.

Several forced drop outs later and, with the clock ticking away, Acorn finally got their just rewards with that magical Chilton moment that dropped Acorn into the next round.