Swindon Town Women’s hopes of progressing in the National League Cup were cut short by London Seaward on Sunday as they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat in Walthamstow.

Two goals either side of Annabelle Colston’s second-half strike proved enough for the hosts to win the determining round tie, which boss James Lally used as an opportunity to rotate his squad.

Town goal-scorer, and last week’s hat-trick hero, Colston was named on the bench for the clash while Rosie Kent was tasked with leading the line at centre forward.

Gipsy Viveash and Jenny Gray made way for Briony Hurd and Ella Harries, with Kat Bach and Becky Donnelly the final swaps for Helena Diaz Butcher and Lucy Durham.

With a number of changes to his starting eleven, Lally’s side started strongly and came close in the early stages with Kat Bach just missing Tori Taylor in the box to give Town the lead.

Moments later, a counter-attack which was teed up by Becky Donnelly found Kent, and she cut inside before sending a shot just past the Seaward goalkeeper’s far post.

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The two early chances for Swindon would be rued though, as Seaward netted first. A deep cross into the box found Samantha Lanza and she kept her composure to shoot low past Emily McGrogan.

Lally made his second change at the interval with Gypsy Viveash coming on for Steph Bent as his side went in search of that all-important equaliser.

However, the tempo changed when Colston, Helena Diaz-Butcher, and Jennifer Gray were brought on in a triple switch, as they replaced Hurd, Bach and Rose.

Just minutes later, a counter-attack headed by Diaz-Butcher and a pin-point cross would find Donnelly, but a good save by the Seaward keeper denied a certain goal.

However, the leveller would arrive shortly after, with Diaz-Butcher and Colston combining well and the latter slotting the ball past the keeper with her left foot.

But unfortunately for Town, the game was turned on it’s head once again as a rather bizarre cross-come-shot from Rea Laudat looped over McGrogan and hit the post. It appeared as though the Town keeper had made a brilliant save, but the referee’s assistant adjudged the ball to have crossed the line and the goal was awarded with twenty minutes remaining.

Chances were few and far between as the clock ticked down, and the tie saw one last clear-cut chance with Lucy Durham finding Colston on the edge of the area, but her effort was well blocked by a Seaward body.

That proved the last action of the tie as Town’s National League Cup journey came to an abrupt end, with the focus now turning to the League Plate.