JAAP STAM says a 2-0 defeat does not reflect his side’s performance against Swansea.
Reading competed well with their Premier League opponents but lost out in the third round of the Carabao Cup after second half goals from Alfie Mawson and Jordan Ayew.
Here is what Stam said to the media immediately after the game –
On the defeat…
I think we started well. We played well in possession, going forward in the first half, getting into their box. Our decision making could’ve been better. For the majority of the game we dominated. But we conceded two easy goals, one from a set piece which can never happen basically and the second one by the referee making a one-two with one of their players and then they can come out on the break.
Then of course it’s difficult to get back into the game because they bring on an extra defender and go five at the back. But overall the players that needed to play to get minutes to get fit, I’m very pleased how we did against a team like that.
The second goal kills the game. In general we defended very well against them.
On Swansea changing their style to counter-attack in the second half…
That’s a good thing and tells you something about your players and what they can do. That’s what they did because that’s what we saw as well in the game. They found it difficult because we were looking for spaces between the lines and a couple of times we got there. We were expecting them to do it a bit different so I warned the players at half-time that they might press us higher up the pitch but they dropped even deeper.
That’s a good thing but it’s all about results at the end of the day and conceding two goals like that is a bit harsh. It’s a pity to be honest because it doesn’t give a good reflection of the game.
On the lack of goals recently…
It would concern me if we don’t create opportunities. We still create opportunities and that’s a very good thing. If we keep creating opportunities then the goals will come, I’m sure of that.
On if he regrets not bringing on Bodvarsson earlier…
No, not at all because we need to have a look at the whole squad. Some players need to get fit and get their minutes and we also have players who were not involved so we need to get them fit in case we need them in the league.
On Swift and Obita coming off early…
Swifty, Obita and Beerens have all had problems so physically they came back from injuries and needed to play. Swifty could only play 60 minutes. We knew that from the start so we needed to swap him and that was the same with Jordan Obita as well. That’s how you get players back into shape basically, by giving them minutes and in cup games you can do that a bit more than in the league games.
