SWINDON Town manager David Flitcroft was impressed with his side’s commitment to the cause in their 2-1 defeat to star-studded Benfica on Wednesday.

Town took on the Portuguese champions at the Football Association's St George’s Park facility, having stepped in to fill in for Derby County’s U23s, who Town had played the day prior.

Harry Smith netted for Swindon to reduce a two goal lead Benfica had gained in the first half through Haris Seferovic and an Andrija Zivkovic penalty.

While Flitcroft admitted he doesn’t take defeats well, he said there was plenty to take away from the game, in which a lot of the first team squad got 90 minutes under their belts.

“We went 1-0 down early on but we dug-in against a Benfica team that had all their stars out in the first-half,” he told the club’s website.

“They put more stars on in the second-half and we kept the same players on for the whole 90 minutes, and we ended up keeping a clean sheet in the second-half.

“The lads committed incredibly to the physical plan and also to the football plan and they were outstanding in the game from a mental aspect.

“We had opportunities to score and win it ourselves and we were very brave in everything we did, so I was delighted and I’ve learnt a lot more about the squad in the last two games.

“It has been like a mini tour and we must thank Benfica for their professionalism today – it was a brilliant experience for the lads at a world class facility in St George’s Park.”

While teams for the games with Benfica and Derby County U23s have not been revealed, it has been reported that two different starting XIs were used for the two games in two days.

Flitcroft has hinted that a more youthful looking side featured in Tuesday’s 4-0 defeat at Derby County’s training ground and he believes they still have much to learn if they are to earn a spot in the matchday squad.

“It was a football commitment and a physical commitment to the Derby game, but I was disappointed with how the young players didn’t find a way back into the game from 1-0 down,” he added.

“We then ended up conceding another three goals so that was a disappointing aspect.

“In fairness, the young lads put a hell of a lot into the Portugal trip in terms of training and also the hard work they carried out away from the training pitch with the jobs they helped out with, so maybe it just took a bit too much out of them.

“The mental commitment is something I’m working really hard on and I’m making sure that we are never out of a football game and we’ve always got an opportunity to win it.

“The mental commitment of the players yesterday was really poor because they decided to collapse and that doesn’t represent me or my values.

“You have to fight until your last breath in any football game and we didn’t do that yesterday, so the young players have got so much to learn when it comes to my values and my principles.

“But, overall, I’m absolutely delighted with the performance today and it has been a positive two days.”