A YOUNG and inexperienced Reading FC were sent crashing out of the Carabao Cup in the first round after a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea City.

Royals looked shaky from the off and quickly found themselves a goal behind when former transfer target Joel Latibeaudiere headed the visitors in front.

Second-half goals from Ben Capango and Joel Piroe piled extra misery on Veljko Paunovic’s youthful side who were forced to see out the game with 10 men after defender Nelson Abbey had been forced to withdraw.

Tom Holmes captained his boyhood club as manager Paunovic named a youthful starting line-up – with an average age of just 19 years and 197 days.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Kian Leavy and Claudio Osorio were all handed their full debuts while Lynford Sackey and Nelson Abbey were also handed starts.

Royals struggled to find their rhythm as Russel Martin’s Swansea outfit dominated possession in the early exchanges.

Yan Dhanda attempted to test Luke Southwood from range but his powerful strike was blocked by Royals’ skipper Holmes after 13 minutes.

In truth, the visitors looked in control from the off and took a deserved lead when Joel Latibeaudiere rose highest to head home from a Dhanda corner.

Royals remained on the back foot and failed to carve out a single opening in the first 25 minutes at Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The visitors thought they had doubled their lead on 32 minutes but for a stunning save from Royals’ Luke Southwood.

The young keeper made himself big and palmed the danger away after Joel Piroe’s clever pivot and strike from inside the box.

Reading finally had a shot on target moments later but George Puscas’ freekick was easily swept up by Steven Benda.

After a rocky start, Royals’ youthful side did start to pick up a bit of momentum when Nelson Abbey sprinted down the left flank.

However, his cross was misjudged by striker Puscas who looped his header well clear of Benda’s crossbar.

Wide-man Leavy, who looked fearless from the off, then skipped past several challenges and drove at the heart of the Swansea defence before scuffing his long-range strike high and wide of the target.

Manager Paunovic was clearly frustrated from his side’s first-half performance and made a surprise change at halftime.

Tom McIntyre was replaced by Michael Stickland as Royals switched to a back five. The tactical tweak certainly made a difference with Reading looking far more comfortable on the ball than they had in the first 45 minutes.

Morgan Whittaker was nearly presented with a golden chance to make it 2-0 when the ball fell kindly to him inside the box. However, his volley was cleverly blocked by Leavy, who had switched to the left wing-back role at half time.

The visitors soon regained their momentum and forced Southwood into another smart save after Piroe skipped past several challenges before striking the ball from 20 yards.

Martin’s side deservedly doubled their lead from the resulting corner after a goal-line block by Leavy was swiftly pounced on by Ben Cabango.

Things went from bad to worse for Reading when young Nelson Abbey took a knock and had to be withdrawn after 68 minutes played.

Royals had already made their three substitutions and were therefore forced to see out the remainder of the game with 10 men on the field.

Swansea continued to press high and had an already beaten-looking Reading pinned deep inside their own half as the game entered the closing stages.

The traveling fans wanted Reading down to nine men on 80 minutes when Dejan Tetek appeared to lash out at Kyle Joeseph.

Luckily, the young midfielder escaped with a talking to from the referee.

Moments later, Swansea had their third when Dutch debutant Piroe, who was a constant thorn in Royals’ side, found himself unmarked inside the box before stroking the ball beyond Southwood’s reach.

Ten-man Reading were easily broken down again moments later and Piroe should have doubled his tally for the night but instead fired a shot straight at the on-rushing Southwood. T

he home side did have a chance to claw one back when the ball fell kindly to Mamadi Camara in extra time but the young winger blazed his shot over the crossbar before the referee called time at 3-0.

Reading FC: Southwood, Sackey, McIntyre (Stickland, 45), Holmes, Abbey; Tetek, Leavy (Bristow, 63), Osario, Camara, Ehibhatiomhan (Clarke, 54) Puscas.

Subs not used: Conniah Boyce-Clarke, Samuels, Senga, Bristow, Purcell,