GARY Bowyer revealed City had been affected by a stomach bug after they were held 1-1 by Salford at Valley Parade.

Adam Rooney’s late sucker punch cancelled out a Harry Pritchard goal to make it three draws in four games for the Bantams, who had dominated the chances.

Despite seeing two points dropped, Bowyer praised the performance following the illness that has swept through the squad.

Read more: Vote for your Bantams match of the decade

He said: “I thought it was one of our best displays of the season, especially in the first half.

“We had over 60 per cent possession and 26 attempts at goal. We came out of a very difficult week.

“We lost James Vaughan and Adam Henley this morning through illness.

“Adam was in yesterday and he’s caught it. Danny Devine is off with illness, Ben Richards-Everton wasn’t in yesterday, so he had a fitness test this morning.

“Connor Wood, Callum Cooke and Anthony O’Connor all played with it. The level of performance was terrific and we’ve got to build on those positives.

“We were terrific today – bar the last bit.”

Bowyer was unhappy with Salford’s leveller after City failed to deal with a run into the box from Brandon Asante.

“That was their only shot on target, which is disappointing again,” he added. “It was poor defending from us in the bottom corner.

“That’s the massive lesson learned for the players. We said it to them last week that we’ve got to become ruthless.

“That’s the next step for them. Don’t let teams come back in – Salford are going away with a point and they will be absolutely delighted.

“That’s a great Christmas present for them.”