GARY Bowyer felt City let Bristol Rovers off the hook after a 3-2 defeat left them on the brink of relegation.

Jonson Clarke-Harris scored his second goal in stoppage time to clinch the home side’s victory.

But the Bantams had led through Lewis O’Brien and then equalised when Nat Knight-Percival netted late on.

Bowyer said: “The start was great again. We totally dominated the first half hour.

“We scored a goal and our shape and game plan was very good to combat what we knew they would play.

“When you’re dominating like we did, you have to take your chances. We had opportunities in the first half hour which just needed better execution or a better pass.

“We had them on the back foot, without a shadow of a doubt.

“But then they get back into it with another poor goal – it was poor for us to concede the corner and then he had a free header and it goes in.”

Bowyer felt the second Rovers goal from Ollie Clarke was also “preventable” and thought his side warranted being level again when Knight-Percival flicked home Jacob Butterfield’s cross.

Bowyer added: “We kept going and I was delighted for them to get the equaliser. It was no more than we deserved.

“But we needed to win the game and went at it. Even with us going with Paudie (O’Connor) up top as well, they only had one player in the box when the cross comes in and he scores it.

“You can’t be getting success when that happens.”