DMITRI Halajko was disappointed that Tuesday's Checkatrade Trophy game didn't fulfil its promise as the Canaries slipped to a 1-0 defeat by Swansea City.

Halajko's team were knocked out of the competition at the last 32 stage as a result of Oliver McBurnie's 74th-minute header at Carrow Road.

City fielded a strong eleven that included Matt Jarvis - his first action since undergoing knee surgery in the summer - and Timm Klose, but Ben Godfrey's first half dismissal for a professional foul changed the game's dynamic.

Halajko reflected on the cup exit, saying to reporters after the final whistle: "It's a real shame, especially to lose it on a game like that.

"We wouldn't have minded if we'd have been outclassed or beaten easily, but we had to play in different circumstances.

"The red card killed the game as a spectacle. You had two good footballing teams, but it turned into a bit of a tactical battle.

"We thought we had the best chances and believed we'd be the ones to go on and nick it, but unfortunately it was them."

Halajko felt decisions didn't go his side's way, with referee Darren Deadman sending Godfrey off in controversial circumstances and disallowing a Carlton Morris goal after the break.

"We thought both of those decisions were a bit unjust, really," he added. "They shaped the game against us. It turned the game in their favour and that was the difference.

"Ben's one was so wide that it wasn't a goalscoring opportunity, and it's a coming together if there is a touch. It was two players running into eachother.

"The goal was disallowed for a foul but looking back on the video it doesn't look like a free-kick at all.

"The competition's been great for us, though. It's given the young lads a chance to play against pros, and we've also had games like tonight where there's more on it.

"Having said that, we're looking to get into the quarter-finals of the International Cup, we're still going well in the Premier League Cup and we've still got plenty of league games."

CHECKATRADE TROPHY EXIT: DMITRI HALAJKO'S REACTION

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