Chris Church | We came out on the wrong side of the small margins

Swansea City interim head coach Chris Church urged his players not be disheartened following their Bute Energy Welsh Cup semi-final to Cardiff City Women, believing there are plenty of positives to take forward.

The Bluebirds took the lead nine minutes in as Mikayla Cook slotted home from close range.

Stacey John-Davis responded with an equaliser just five minutes later, a tidy finish from close range drawing the Swans level.

The second half proved a tight and tense affair, but Cardiff regained the lead with five minutes to go after Molly Kehoe capitalised on a mistake to find the net, before Megan Bowen headed home their third in the final moments.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a place in the final, Church was pleased with Swansea's performance, and hopes the upcoming start of phase two of the Genero Adran Premier will give his side the chance to immediately bounce back.

“I’m happy with the performance, the players have come a long way and I can’t be too disheartened with the display,” said Church.

“They have all taken everything on board, it’s just unfortunate that the game is won by small margins and this game certainly was, and we were on the wrong side of them on this occasion.

“But the players can take confidence from how they played regardless of the result, I can’t take much away from the team, they gave everything for the cause.

“It will definitely serve as motivation, Cardiff are a good team with good players, but I think we have a really good squad as a whole and now it’s about sticking together in these moments and seeing where it takes us.

“The fixtures are coming thick and fast, and it gives them an instant opportunity to respond and put the result behind us.

“Obviously the players will be feeling down and disheartened, that's understandable when you lose a semi-final, but it’s the staff's job to pick them back up as quickly as possible.

“There is still a lot to play for and that is a credit to the players for getting us into these positions.”