GRAHAM Alexander admitted the snowball effect of City’s losing run was evident as they crumbled at Harrogate.

The Sulphurites cruised to a 3-0 win at Wetherby Road this afternoon – a fourth straight loss for the stumbling Bantams.

Alexander said: “The first goal seems to bring the previous game on top of us in our minds.

“We have some openings to get that first goal. We don’t and they score, then a little bit of our composure goes.

“We make strange decisions in and out of possession and we just don’t have the quality at the moment to overcome those issues.

“We had another really great chance to equalise and give us that spark and don’t take it.”

Tyreik Wright blew a golden opportunity to level five minutes after Josh March had opened the scoring. City’s only other efforts on target were free-kicks straight at home keeper James Belshaw.

Alexander cursed yet another big chance that had gone begging.

“We can talk about that for one, two, three games,” added the City boss. “For me, it feels like a recurring theme over the past few months.

“The data and the league table tell you we haven’t scored enough goals to win enough games or relieve the pressure on anything we give away.

“That’s what we have to be better at. Like I said on Tuesday, our defensive structure over the course of the season has been really good but that seems to have deserted us.

“There are obviously mitigating circumstances with missing players at important times.

“But I think the lack of a constant real cutting edge in front areas has been apparent for a while.

“When you concede that first goal then miss that chance, there’s a little devil in your mind when you’re on that pitch wondering if that was the opportunity to get back.

“There is a lack of belief. You can see that.

“It’s no good me ignoring that, there’s a cloud in our mind when we go a goal down.

“You’re looking for responses and there is from certain individuals. But as a group, I don’t think we’ve been good enough to find that in the last few games.”