Anthony Wright | We were missing a cutting edge and belief in the final third

Swansea City Under-21s coach Anthony Wright admitted a lack of belief in the final third had cost his young side after they exited the Nathaniel MG Cup on penalties at Baglan Dragons.

Sammy Henia-Kamau, fresh off signing his first professional contract, had the Swans ahead at the 10-minute mark, heading in from Ben Lloyd’s fine assist.

But the hosts were level just three minutes later as a solo run from Dylan Thomas was finished off with a strike into the bottom corner.

There was no further score and it was Baglan who advanced to the second round as they scored all five of their spot-kicks to win the shootout 5-3, with Henia-Kamau unable to find the net for the Swans.

"First and foremost, you have to give Baglan a lot of praise. They came with a gameplan to sit off and frustrate, which they did really well," said Wright.

"We had a lot of possession, but in the moments you look for in and around the final third, we just couldn't get enough into our game to get the opportunity to score.

"There were a lot of positives throughout the game. It was such a young team playing but, in the final third, as a team, we didn't have that cutting edge."

The young Swans were without Filip Lissah, Kyrell Wilson, Richard Faakye, Dan Watts, Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill, who all played a crucial role in reaching the final of the Nathaniel MG Cup last term.

It meant Wright fielded a young squad consisting mainly of first and second-year scholars, with Ramon Rees-Siso and Josh Pescatore making their full debuts at under-21 level.

"We've prepared the same that we always have, we try to educate the players on what they're going to come up against. Baglan have done their best to get the facility as good as possible," added Wright.

"We didn't put water on our training pitches this week, because we knew the ball would be a bit slower compared to what we're used to. We talked about the physical element, which ultimately gave Baglan their goal.

"With the boys that are missing, they have the experience of this competition from last year, and have played against senior teams many times.

"But some of them are away with the first team, which is what we want. But it also means we give the younger players a chance at having this experience and giving them an opportunity to grow.

"I wouldn't say we came up short. There were many positive moments in the game, but those in the final third were ones we didn't take."