SWINDON Town U18s’ FA Youth Cup quest came to an end in the third round on Saturday as they were beaten 3-1 at home by Nottingham Forest.

Town had seen off Newport County and Northampton Town respectively in the previous two rounds, whereas Forest, who are a Category Two academy side, were only entering the competition at this stage.

Preparations for the game at the Energy Check County Ground were far from smooth for manager Alan McLoughlin and his young side as they had to fill in for a reserve team fixture during midweek.

The Town U18s chief was therefore full of praise for his players at how well they equipped themselves not only against Forest but throughout their cup campaign.

“I am really pleased with how the players approached the game considering the time frame we had to prepare,” said McLoughlin.

“We probably only had a total of an hour and 30 minutes preparation in terms of time on the pitch.

“Overall we contained Forest’s better players very well and made it a difficult afternoon for them.

“Yes, at times they had good possession but it was in our gameplan and we nearly executed it. It was a case of nearly but not quite enough.

“The performance was a great credit to the players and everyone at the academy. That was our third game in the competition and I am delighted with how the players did.”

“The adventure is over but we move on and concentrate on the league now.”

The visitors took a 1-0 lead into the break at SN1 but Town hauled themselves level within eight minutes of the restart when Teo Attick headed home a Jordan Edwards free-kick.

Forest hit back and regained the lead just two minutes later before Swindon thought they had a second equaliser when Attick turned home an effort from Edwards, only to do so from an offside position.

The visitors then pulled further clear with 10 minutes to play and time ran out on Town to mount another comeback.

McLoughlin added: “We had a gameplan in the first half to contain and frustrate them, which we did, but unfortunately we conceded from a corner, which is unusual for us.

“We were still confident at half-time that a change in formation might cause Forest issues, so we went to 3-4-3 having started 3-5-2 and it worked well and we got at them.

“We put them under pressure and scored a very good equaliser. Unfortunately, straight after equalising, we conceded.

“To be fair to the players, they didn’t let their heads go down and went at Nottingham Forest but credit to Nottingham Forest too as they kept going and ended up scoring a great free-kick towards the end.”