Yzzy Taylor | It hurts, but we’ll learn and come back stronger

Swansea City Women’s head coach Yzzy Taylor admitted defeat to Cardiff City in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup final was heartbreaking, but has urged her side to use the hurt as fuel to make further strides next season.

The Swans had raced into a 3-0 lead at Rodney Parade, with Chloe Chivers opening the scoring in the first half, before quickfire second-half goals from Aimee Deacon and Maisie Miller put them firmly in control.

Cardiff responded, however, with goals from Fiona Barry, Shannon Evans and an own goal bringing the scores level at 3-3 after 90 minutes, sending the final to penalties.

The Bluebirds would ultimately come out on top, converting all of their spot-kicks, while Swans great Stacey John saw her effort saved by Ceryn Chamberlain in her 250th and final appearance for Swansea before retirement.

Despite the result, it was another closely contested encounter between the sides, and Taylor expressed her pride in the performance, confident her team will learn from the experience and use it as a foundation to build on ahead of next season.

“Today hurts, and we’re not going to shy away from that. To be 3-0 up in a cup final, you feel like you’re in dreamland. We struggled at times to put pressure on the ball, and we have to give them credit for getting three goals. It’s important that we bounce back next season, but also take time to reflect on what happened today and learn from it,” she said.

"I thought we came out strong after half-time and scored two quick goals. The momentum was with us, but games can swing, and in finals they often become even scrappier.

“They took their chances, and we conceded from a corner when we had two players off the pitch. Managing those moments is something we have to be better at. It then came down to penalties, and that always means one team will be heartbroken and unfortunately, that was us.

"I feel for Stacey. She held her hands up and apologised in the circle at the end, but we told her she has nothing to apologise for. What she’s done for this club over the last 14 years is monumental, and she should be incredibly proud of her career. Today will hurt, but as a group we need to stay united and support each other.

"We don’t want to feel like this again. It’s important that we use pre-season to get things right. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with the top teams this year, and I’m immensely proud of how far we’ve come, but we know there are still areas to improve."