Sport

Swansea boss Vitor Matos says side were unfortunate in cup defeat

08 Aug 2026 2 minute read

Swansea City v Birmingham City, Carabao Cup First Round, Vitor Matos, Swansea Head Coach. Credit: Huw Evans Picture Agency

Nation.Cymru staff

Swansea head coach Vitor Matos felt his side were unfortunate in their 1-0 Carabao Cup loss to Birmingham.

“Disappointed with the result, of course, that’s clear,” he said.

“I think in the first half we were closer to what we want to be, it was a good start. Second half, we were a little bit more rusty and took a little bit more time to get into the game again. Not easy against a team that is quite aggressive, man marking and quite direct with the long ball.

“That slows the momentum and the game down again and you need to start again the attack. So let’s say that didn’t play on our side, but there were a few positive things.”

Birmingham boss Chris Davies was praised his side’s attitude after edging out Championship rivals Swansea to progress into round two of the Carabao Cup.

August Priske’s goal a minute before the break proved decisive after Swansea had been the side on top in the first half and unfortunate not to be ahead.

Swansea City v Birmingham City, Carabao Cup First Round. Marko Stamenic of Swansea City is challenged by Paik Seung-Ho of Birmingham City. Credit: Kian Abdullah, Huw Evans Picture Agency

“It was a really good win for us, a perfect way to start the season,” said Davies. “To come here and win, I couldn’t have asked for more.

“Swansea started with their tails up and you sort of expect that. We needed to be a little bit more aggressive, I thought, early on, but no team in the Championship is going to come here and have more possession than Swansea this season. I’m confident in saying that.

“I wasn’t aiming to do that. I just wanted to make sure that we put them under pressure from our pressing game and obviously our set pieces and things like that.

“It wasn’t about being perfect today, it was about having the right attitude basically and I thought we saw that.”

Swansea edged out by Championship rivals Birmingham in Carabao Cup

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