BRADFORD City Women Chairman, Qasim Akhtar, has taken a great deal of optimism from the club's 3-2 loss at bitter rivals Leeds United last Sunday.

In a frantic second half where all five goals were scored, City left empty handed from the So-Trak Stadium, but showed a great deal of resilience to set up a grand stand finish as they pulled two goals back after going 3-0 down.

With a crucial fixture at Merseyrail this Sunday, Akhtar believes that were plenty of positives to take from last week's defeat.

He said: "Not that it was ever in question but the fightback from the girls at Leeds emphasised the character and belief within the squad. As a squad, we pride ourselves on showing fight and spirit right until the very end; it's something that I've never questioned about the group. It's just them fine margins that perhaps aren't going the way we want.

Akhtar added: "The game against Leeds also showed how tight this league is because we were not that far off their level and we've not been far off most of the teams' levels throughout the season; in fact, in 14 out of the 18 league games we have played, there has only been one goal in it whether it be in our favour or the opposition's favour. We are not quite there but we certainly not a million miles off."

Despite City's narrow defeat at Leeds last time out, the feel good factor remains within the group, admitted Akhtar: "Losing a game of football is never nice and I understand why it would hurt more to lose against your biggest rivals in Leeds United. However, the spirit remains high within the group and we've had a good week of training, so the preparations for Sunday's game are as positive as they could be.

The Bantams have another huge league fixture this weekend as they travel to take on bottom side Merseyrail. The Liverpool side's only victory this season arrived when they visited Bradford in the reverse fixture back in October (1-0).

City won't get a better opportunity to pick up three points this weekend despite the result of the first tie between the two sides, with the depleted Merseyrail side losing eight of their last nine league fixtures.

A victory for the visitors, if results go in their favour, will see them draw level on points with Chorley - the side sitting above the relegation zone - which City and Merseyrail currently occupy.

Looking ahead to the fixture, Akhtar said: "Merseyrail's one victory this season came against us, so we definitely won't be underestimating them. League positions don't lie; we are where we are for a reason, so we won't be going into this game as huge favourites. We've got to go there and focus on our own gameplan, whether it be in possession or out of possession and do our best to win an important game of football.

"If you look at the game on paper, the importance of the game and whether it's a key game for our season, then we should be looking to get the victory. We want to win every game, so it would be a mistake to target the Merseyrail game as our cup final. We have five games left and 15 points to play for, so we must approach each game with the right mentality."