Report | Watford U23s 2 Swansea City U23s 0

Swansea City Under-23s suffered their first defeat in five games after they were beaten by Watford in Professional Development League South.

First-half goals from Maurizio Pochettino and Phoenix Patterson settled the contest in favour of the hosts, whose squad boasted several professionals with senior experience under their belts.

The Hornets were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time when Bayli Spencer Adams was dismissed for a rash challenge on substitute Ben Lloyd.

Kris O’Leary made two changes to the side that drew with Ipswich Town at Landore on Monday.

Jamie Searle replaced Josh Gould in goal, while Scott Butler came into the heart of defence with Brandon Cooper returning to the first-team environment.

The Swans fell behind in the eighth minute in Hertfordshire after failing to deal with a corner and enabling Pochettino – son of Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio – to open the scoring.

Another set-piece did the damage just before half-time, with Patterson doubling the lead following a well-worked free-kick.

To their credit, the youthful Swans continued to dig in as they sought a route back into the game.

But while they enjoyed plenty of possession, the visitors were unable to turn that into opportunities to threaten the Watford goal.

The hosts had to play out the dying moments of the game after Spencer Adams was shown a straight red card in the first minute of stoppage time for a rash challenge on Lloyd.

Swans U23s: Jamie Searle; Harry Jones, Jake Thomas, Scott Butler, Cian Williams; Daniel Williams, Ryan Bevan, Cameron Congreve (Ben Lloyd, 80); Morgan Clarke (Jordi Govea, 50), Ali Al-Hamadi, Rio Campbell.

Subs not used: Josh Hutchings, Ryan Bassett, Jacob Edwards.