SWINDON Town Ladies kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 defeat to Swansea City at Croft Sports Centre on Sunday.

The hosts held their own against the Welsh outfit for just under half an hour before a ball over the top saw a Swansea player chopped down by Swindon goalkeeper Robyn Levett for a penalty that gave the Welsh side the lead.

New Town signing Georgia Walters levelled when she latched onto a loose long ball before applying a lofted finish.

Swansea regained the lead on the hour mark and, despite a couple of near-misses from Town captain Michelle Rich from free-kicks, the home side were unable to restore parity again.

With manager Steve Robertson absent, it was down to assistant Kim Reeves to take charge of the team for the fixture.

Reeves said: “I thought the girls played well, they demonstrated real resilience and they played against a tough side.

“We didn’t give up until the end I’m happy with the result.

“I think we were a little bit unlucky in the end not to get a draw. We had some good chances but similarly, Robyn (Levett) pulled off some fantastic saves.”

Swindon were due to play Tottenham last week but their pre-season - ahead of their FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division campaign - was somewhat disrupted when Spurs pulled out of the match.

Reeves added: “This (Swansea) was actually our first game. We were supposed to have one last week but it was cancelled, so I think it is a good start. We have a week off now before we play them again at their place.

“I think the first half we played okay and in the second half, we dipped.

“It’s been difficult. A lot of people have commitments and it hasn’t really felt like pre-season yet, but I’m sure it will in the next couple of weeks when everyone is back raring to go and the first game of the league season away at Charlton is looming.”