Ricky King | We were outfought on the day

Ricky King admitted Swansea City Under-18s had been outfought as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in their first away outing of the season against Crewe Alexandra.

The hosts scored goals either side of the break, courtesy of Luca Moore and Rhys Allport to claim all three points.

The Swans had plenty of chances to bring themselves back into the game, but some good defensive work from Crewe kept them at bay.

And, while the new head coach acknowledged it had been a tough afternoon, he felt there would be plenty his young side would learn.

"Firstly, the basics of what we asked from the boys is to apply themselves really well, and even though it didn't go our way today, I thought the boys were brave," said King.

"They kept trying to play in terms of what we want them to play, but I will say Crewe outfought us today. They ran more and played through more quickly.

"The learning for the boys is to make sure we can compete with those situations, and it will be assessed in training next week.

"It is early on in the campaign, and we have ideas and strategies in place, and they take time. Part of the learning, again, is how to prepare.

"It is our first away trip, a long journey and I think we need to help them understand how to best prepare themselves going forward.

"As I mentioned, it's a learning process and the boys will go home to reflect and to prepare for our next game against Sheffield Wednesday."