SWINDON Town U18s boss Alan McLoughlin says his youngsters were battling both the elements and Southend United on Saturday as they lost 3-1 at home.

The former Swindon Town midfielder watched his side concede twice in the opening 45 minutes as they struggled to get to grips with strong winds at the weekend.

The second half saw more of the same as Southend were asked to deal with the weather, but the Essex side managed to pinch a third goal to inflict a sixth defeat of the season on Swindon’s youngsters.

“It was a nightmare day in terms of conditions, we lost the toss and had to defend into the wind,”

“We could hardly get out of our half. They had a lot of second year scholars and we only had three playing.

“We were 2-0 down at half-time and at that point I thought we would get some chances.

“Then we gave away a very sloppy third goal. We were camped in their half but they just had that little bit more strength and power.

“After chatting with their manager at the end, he was quite impressed with the number of first years and 16-year-olds we had playing.

“Going into the game, with the conditions, I thought if we could come away with a point then that would be a great result.

“It’s a learning curve and it is a development curve. I don’t think the elements made it an enjoyable day for anyone.”

Not only was the result less than ideal, but McLoughlin was also dealt an injury blow as striker Teo Atik suffered a broken hand which required surgery and has subsequently ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

“It was a disappointing which was made even more disappointing because our forward, Teo Atik has suffered a serious break in his hand,” he added.

“We wish him a speedy recovery. It was a sickening collision and a complete accident.

“The goalkeeper had his eyes fixed on the ball. Teo bravely went in for the header but came off second best.

“It’s unfortunate and it will rule him out for the season.

“We are very light on numbers at the moment, Sol Pryce is another one who has been out for a while, he is also injured.”