READING FC crashed out of this year’s Carabao Cup after a 2-0 home defeat by Premier League Swansea City.

Former Royals trainee Alfie Mawson gave Swans a 52nd minute lead at Madejski Stadium before substitute Jordan Ayew added a second in the 83rd minute to send the visitors into the fourth round.

Reading played a full part in a lively first-half and at times had Swansea on the rack.

But the lack of a recognised striker in the team proved to be a decisive factor on the night.

Royals often impressed in the build-up against a strong Swansea outfit, but when they reached the final third they rarely looked like scoring.

How Stam addresses the problem now the transfer window has closed remains to be seen.

But the Dutchman will need one of his forwards to step up to the mark sooner rather than later.

Stam shuffled his squad as expected and made a whopping nine changes from the side that drew 1-1 at Brentford.

Fit-again Jordan Obita made his first start of the season, John Swift returned to the starting line-up after a month out and Roy Beerens also made his first start.

Anssi Jaakkola continued his cup run in goal, while Tiago Illori, George Evans, Adrian Popa and Pelle Clement were also handed rare starts.

In fact, Liam Moore and Chris Gunter were the only survivors from the team that played at Griffin Park at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Clement’s intentions were clear as he names a strong Swansea side which included on-loan Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches and Wilfried Bony in the starting line-up.

But it was the home side who started the stronger, with Popa rounding Swans keeper Kritoffer Nordfeldt then teeing up Swift whose cross was eventually cleared by the Swans.

Then Beerens spotted Nordfeldt off his line, but his effort from 30 yards sailed narrowly over the bar.

Royals may not have had a recognised striker in their starting line-up, but they posed Swansea a real threat.

And Reading let the visitors off the hook in the 13th minute when an Alfie Mawson slip gave Popa a sight at goal, but the Romanian’s shot flew over the bar.

Yet Swans were back under pressure and three minutes later Swift tested Nordfelt from 15 yards after a slick, flowing move involving Beerens and Clement.

But the visitors began to find their rhythm midway through the first half.

Luciano Narsingh was a smidgin offside when he ran onto Bony pass and clean through on goal with 25 minutes gone.

Then a minute later Narsingh put the ball in the Reading net only for referee Andy Davies to rule it out for a foul on Obita.

And before Reading could recover, Narsingh raced onto a ball over the top, held off Obita only for Jaakkola to rush off his line and make an excellent save to keep the scores level.

Tempers fthen flared after the half-time whistle, with players from both sides involved in a bust-up as they headed down the tunnel, earning Swansea’s Leroy Fer a booking.

But it took the visitors just seven minutes after the restart to break the deadlock.

Liam Moore blocked a Bony shot which went for a corner and when Sanches swung it in, Mawson peeled away before hitting a crisp shot past Jaakkola and into the Reading net.

The goal appeared to knock the stuffing out of Royals who, for all their endeavour, struggled to frighten the Swansea defence in the way they had early in the game.

Stam had seen enough and threw on a striker with 16 minutes to go when Jon Dadi Bodvarrson replaced Popa.

The visitors almost added a second two minutes later when Jaakkola spilled Jordan Ayew’s shot only for Bony to put the rebound wide before falling into the net himself.

And Swansea did put the game to bed seven minutes before the end, albeit with a stroke of luck.

They broke quickly up the pitch after the ball had come off the referee, with Ayew racing into space before sliding the ball across Jaakkola and into the far corner.

Tyler Blackett and Clement both had chances to pull one back late on, but neither could trouble Nordfeldt.

Reading have now failed to beat the Swansea in the last nine meetings stretching back to September 2008.

Stam will no doubt ring the changes again for Saturday’s home league fixture against Hull City (3pm ko).

Reading: Jaakkola, Gunter (c), Obita (Blackett 62), Moore, Ilori, Evans, Bacuna, Swift (Kelly 54), Beerens, Popa (Bodvarsson 74), Clement. Subs not used: Legg, Van den Berg, Rinomhota, Smith. Booked: Bacuna 42.

Swansea: Nordfeldt, Rangel (C), van der Hoorn, Maison, Olsson, Roque Mesa, Sanches, Fer, Narsingh (Fernandez 70), Routledge, (Ayew 62) Bony (Abraham 81). Subs not used: Mulder, Naughton, Britton, Fulton. Booked: Fer 45, Olsson 56.

Refereee: Andy Davies.

Attendance: 8,729 (Swansea 968).