General manager Justin Merritt believes Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Bradford Park Avenue has not derailed Oxford City’s chances of reaching the play-offs, writes MATTHEW BRUCE.

Missing Luke Coulson, Javier Rodriguez and Darren Pond due to injury, City limped to a timid defeat, and Merritt admitted the better side won.

“We looked very disjointed and I thought Bradford set themselves up well, with a very solid formation,” he said.

“They really worked hard as a team and we couldn’t get into a real flow.

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“Credit to them, they looked like they had a bit more energy than us.“It was probably a deserved victory for them, in my opinion.”

The defeat leaves City five points beneath the play-off places with six games left, but Merritt feels their challenge is far from over.

He said: “Over the last few months we’ve really played well and got some great results, but ultimately you are where you are in the table.

“We have made lots of poor decisions and reckless decisions that have meant we’ve had a lot of sendings-off.

“It's left us a big task to try and get in that play-off spot, but it’s not dead, there will be twists and turns.

“We’ve got some big games to come now and we just want to keep that alive as long as possible.”