Saints suffered a cruel stoppage time defeat in Wales as Swansea struck late on to secure a 1-0 win for the hosts.

A rollercoaster of a match in the totesport.com combination division looked destined for stalemate as a hard fought battle between the two sides took place on Wednesday afternoon.

Stewart Henderson's side were denied early on as Aaron Martin was denied a goal by an offside decision which went against the young defender inside the opening two minutes of play.

A first half of end to end action was then interrupted by a penalty awarded to the hosts for foul inside the area just two minutes before the break. Bartosz Bialkowski was the hero though as he turned away the spot kick, but that was not the only flashpoint at the end of the half as both teams had a player sent off.

Academy scholar Aarran Racine picked up his second booking of the match shortly into first half stoppage time for a foul which led to a minor scuffle that also saw a Swansea player dismissed for his reaction to the challenge.

Oscar Gobern reverted back into a defensive role for the second 45 minutes, whilst Ben Reeves was introduced after the break for Lee Molyneux, who was making his return from injury.

Saints started to get on top in the second half and went close on a few occasions to breaking the deadlock, Garyn Preen shooting wide for the visitors with around ten minutes to go.

However, the late drama took place with 90 minutes on the clock as a cross from the left was turned in by Swans striker Besian Idrizaj with virtually the last kick of the game to seal a win for the hosts.

Afterwards, reserves boss Henderson felt that his side were unfortunate to come away with nothing.

"It was galling to concede in the third minute of stoppage time," he said. "We had a couple of chances in the second half which we didn't take advantage of, but looked the more likely to score. Then for the first time all game we were a little loose at the back and they scored.

"It was good to give a run out to Lee Molyneux and Tom Dunford who have both returned from longer term injuries and they both came through OK."

Saints Res: Bartosz Bialkowski, Sam Argent, Lee Molyneux (Ben Reeves 46), Callum McNish, Aaron Martin, Aarran Racine, Garyn Preen, Jamie White (Tom Dunford 70), Ryan Doble, Oscar Gobern, Kayne McLaggon. Subs (not used): Andrej Pernecky, Andy Robinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.