Richards: We deserved more

Gary Richards felt Swansea City Under-23s deserved more from their performance in Thursday's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League International Cup.

The young Swans rounded off their Group E campaign with a defeat as Lazar Markovic and Glen McAuley got the goals for the Reds.

But the visitors had the better of the second half and had chances to ensure their campaign in the competition ended with a positive result.

Richards admits his side lacked the clinical edge in front of goal which would have rewarded a strong performance, but believes it provides plenty of positives to take forward into their next Premier League 2 fixture against leaders Everton.

"It wasn’t the result we wanted or deserved. We were quite pleased with the way we controlled large parts of the game and created a number of good opportunities," said co-coach Richards.

"Liverpool were always going to create chances, but I thought we limited them to very few. I think they only had one effort in the second half – from which they scored – so it was one of those games where we felt like we didn’t get what we deserved.

"The performance was certainly there. It was the type we need to take into the remainder of our games. It’s important now that we continue to work as hard as we can to turn those good performances into positive results.

"It’s just about being more clinical in the final third and, at the same time, keeping tight at the back.

"We think the games in this tournament are a big part of the players’ development. We’ve had three very different types of games this season which, as players and staff, we’ve got quite a lot out of even if it hasn’t been as positive as in past years.