Ben Lloyd | U18s gutted to exit Youth Cup

Ben Lloyd says Swansea City Under-18s were left gutted by the manner of their FA Youth Cup defeat by Middlesbrough.

The young Swans were beaten 1-0 in the fourth-round tie at Landore, with Callum Kavanagh’s 56th-minute strike settling the contest.

Byron Anthony’s side, who were beaten 5-0 at Charlton three days earlier, produced a hugely positive performance against their Premier League North opponents.

The young Swans controlled possession throughout the majority of the tie, but Lloyd and his team-mates were made to rue the inability to turn their good play into goals.

The attacking midfielder, who only turned 16 last month, impressed once again for the hosts; demonstrating bundles of creativity and neat touches whenever he got on the ball.

And with the under-18s returning to Professional Development League South action against Millwall on Tuesday, Lloyd insists they must pick themselves up and carry the positives forward.

“We’re just gutted to go out the way we did,” he said. “Obviously, it’s not nice to lose in the cup.

“We felt like we dominated the game and deserved to get a result at least, but that’s how football goes sometimes.

“We must take the positives out of every game because most of us are still only young.

“We’ve shown just how far we’ve come in a short space of time.

“We just have to think about the next game and keep working hard.”