PLAYER RATINGS: Swindon Town (2) v (3) Chelsea U21

In the first fixture of the newly named Leasing.com trophy, Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners at the County Ground despite Swindon coming back from 2-0 down in a tightly contested clash. Town showed moments of brilliance, but Chelsea's technical superiority showed. Total Sport Swindon's Rajan Hothi was on hand to deliver his player ratings from Town's defeat.

GK: Luke McCormick (7)

Relatively untested in the opening ten minutes and made a good stop but couldn't keep out the follow up for the opener though he wasn't given much support from his defence. Was called into action a few times and made some important saves throughout despite being offered little protection from his shaky defence.

LB: Rob Hunt (6) 

A poor back pass on the half-hour mark almost saw Chelsea restore their two-goal lead but McCormick was on hand to spare Hunt's blushes. The left-back did an adequate job after an out-of-sorts first-half and will be a little disappointed no one was on hand to take advantage of some of his good crosses into the Chelsea box. Expect Hunt to start against Carlisle on Saturday.

CB: Tom Broadbent (4)  

Was caught slacking for the first goal and failed to impress in what was a good opportunity to stake a claim for a regular first-team position. Was too often caught out of position and every challenge looked rash and last minute. Didn't cover himself in glory alongside Ballard for the second goal either in what was a poor showing from the 27-year-old. 

CB: Dan Ballard (7)  

Struggled to deal with a technically gifted and paced Chelsea attack in the opening exchanges but grew into the game. Didn't deal with the low cross from Castillo for the second goal, but redeemed himself with a powerful header to score Swindon's opener. Looked a lot more composed than the more experienced Broadbent did.

RB: Tyler Reid (5)  

In his first competitive appearance for Town, Reid looked unorganised and rushed when in possession. Looked competent at right-back in some parts of the game and will hopefully offer some good depth for Swindon as the season progresses though he does look prone to a slip-up, often caused by panic. Reid will be a useful player for Town this season but don’t expect him to be a regular starter. 

CDM: Toumani Diagouraga (4.5)  

In what could be his last outing for Swindon, Diagouraga failed to impress as he got ran ragged time and time again in the middle of the park by the youthful Chelsea opposition. Was lucky to escape a yellow after a poor challenge in the 35th minute and probably should've pulled Town level but saw his header just go over the bar late in the first half. Not a great performance from the Frenchman and it would be no surprise if this is his last STFC performance.

CM: Adam May (7)  

Showcased his passing abilities and unlocked Chelsea's back-line early on. Levelled proceedings with a fantastic volley from the edge of the box which found the bottom left corner early in the second half, but was also prone to making a couple of poor passes throughout the duration of the match. 

CM: Michael Doughty  (7) 

His fantastic delivery for Town's first goal got Swindon back into the encounter, with most of his set-piece deliveries causing problems for the young Chelsea side. The on-the-night skipper was constantly trying to create openings although often to no avail as Chelsea pressed high and attempted to suffocate Doughty when the playmaker was in possession. Seemed to develop a good relationship with Isgrove as the match went on and this will be an important on-field relationship as the season progresses. 

RM: Lloyd Isgrove (8)  

Once again, Isgrove looked lively and impressed with his blistering pace causing panic among the Blues defence. Frequently started attacks with his passing often putting Swindon on the counter-attack. Had an effort saved mid-way through the first-half as Town looked to find an equaliser before forcing a good stop from James Cumming five minutes before the half-time interval, deceiving most Swindon fans into thinking he had levelled the clash. An impressive showing from the winger who came off for Jermaine McGlashan with 20 minutes to go.

LM: Ellis Iandolo (4.5)  

Didn't do a lot and looked lost at times out on the left-wing. Came off at half-time to be replaced by Jerry Yates, and was unable to justify the praise earned by Richie Wellens during pre-season. 

ST: Keshi Anderson (6) 

Struggled as the lone striker in the first half but looked a little more lively in the second-half in a more familiar role for out on the wing. Should've headed Swindon ahead after good work by Isgrove and Yates saw the former deliver a pinpoint ball into the box but Anderson couldn't take advantage as his effort sailed over the bar. Saw his audacious long-range strike well saved by Cumming in the 66th minute as Swindon looked to restore parity again. Came off for Woolery soon after.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Jerry Yates (6) 

Came on at half-time as Richie Wellens looked to add more of an attacking threat to his side in the second half. Tried to work a few openings, but was mostly unsuccessful in doing so with the Chelsea back-line managing to block a few of Yates' attempted strikes. 

Jermaine McGlashan (6) 

Had a good run which saw him beat several Chelsea defenders, but couldn't find a finish to round off what would've been a brilliant solo effort. His pace caused problems for a tiring Chelsea defence, but his finishing really let him down.

Kaiyne Woolery (N/A) 

Didn't do too much when he came on and didn't affect the game as he did in the second-half against Scunthorpe last Saturday.