Gary Richards Swansea City Under-23s

Coach Gary Richards admitted he was left disappointed by the manner Swansea City Under-23s were defeated by Fulham at Motspur Park on Monday.

A Jordan Garrick strike midway through the first half gave the young Swans the lead in London, but Fulham levelled though Dennis Adeniran before the break.

Despite a number of chances for either side in the second period a George Williams penalty in the final five minutes of the game ended the under-23s' unbeaten league run that stretched back to September.

"We are disappointed and feel a little bit hard done by," admitted Richards. "I feel we deserved something from the result.

"We played well first half but we too slow in the opening stages of the second. We created good chances throughout the game and had about 14 attempts on goal with four or five opportunities we should have converted. 

"I can understand why the referee has given the penalty, but the manner of the goals we conceded is disappointing."

Monday's result is only the development side's third league defeat of the season, bring to an end an unbeaten run in Premier League 2 (Division 2) that included nine wins.

The defeat also means Swansea's lead at the top of the league has been cut to ten points, with Fulham making up ground in second place.

"We knew the run was going to end sooner or later," Richards continued. "But we need to make sure this defeat has the right effect.

"The team has been terrific to have not lost in the league since September, but now we must see a reaction like we did when we lost against Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

"We have been on a tremendous run, but the most important thing now is how we react this this loss and bounce-back in the right way."