The men from Pretoria suffered an agonising defeat in Cape Town, with the Stormers scoring a try in the final minute of the game to steal a draw away from the Bulls.
Despite the close nature of the game, their form over the past few months has been poor with the loss to the Stormers being their sixth straight defeat across the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup.
The result could have gone in their favour if the usually unflappable Handre Pollard had not had an uncharacteristically poor day with boot, missing two penalties in the second half that would have had the Bulls ahead by one point even after the Stormers late try.
"It's obviously disappointing at the moment. We're all emotional and it hurts to lose like this," Ackermann said after the match.
"I feel sorry for the players because things just don't seem to want to turn for us. Even when we win a high ball, the bounce doesn't go our way.
"It feels like every little kick goes against us and you don't get the 50-50 calls [from referee Griffin Colby] either. It's a tough place to be.
"I really wanted the players to put their hands up and they did. It wasn't a fluent game. There were mistakes from both sides and it boiled down to one or two big decisions. Credit to the Stormers - they finished well.
"The wind definitely made the aerial contest difficult. The ball looks like it's going far and then suddenly drops short. It's tough for both sides. But that's not the reason we lost - that was in our hands."
Despite their losing streak, Ackermann avoided blaming his players, instead praising their will to fight for a result against strong opposition.
"For large parts of the game we were good and created opportunities. When Sebastian [de Klerk] won that ball at the end, on another day the pass sticks and we score in the corner," he added
"Those mistakes are fixable, and that's why I believe we can turn the season around.
"We're going full out with the strongest possible team for the next two games. If we lose, we're out. If we win, we're in [the playoffs] - it's simple.
"This next block is about getting everyone on the same page, building cohesion and turning our season around."
The Bulls could not recover from conceding three tries in the opening nine minutes as the South African side went down 61-49 in their Champions Cup encounter against Bristol Bears at Loftus.
Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has provided an update on the expected return dates of Springbok stars Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and Cameron Hanekom.
Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann has named a starting XV stacked with Springbok pedigree for Saturday's Investec Champions Cup clash against Bristol Bears at Loftus Versfeld.
With just two rounds of the Champions Cup pool stage remaining, every point is crucial as South Africa's teams look to secure their place in the last 16 of Europe's premier Club competition.
