It was always going to be a longshot, yet the whimpering exit to Swansea in the Capital One Cup semifinal Wednesday still feels like a major disappointment.

The task at hand was difficult for Chelsea but far from insurmountable. Given the club's success on their travels this season - which has seen victories attained at Goodison Park, White Hart Lane and the Emirates - a trip to the Liberty Stadium did not appear especially daunting. Needing to overhaul a two-goal advantage was a new situation for the Blues to find themselves in, but there was an understandable degree of optimism from the visiting fans going into this fixture.

- Hazard apologises for ballboy incident

Ultimately, the self-inflicted damage done in the first leg proved costly. Branislav Ivanovic will almost certainly never make those mistakes again - definitely not two in the same game - and those moments of carelessness at Stamford Bridge Jan. 9 made all the difference.

Chelsea's failing in South Wales was their inability to impose any tempo on the match. It took until halfway through the first half for Rafael Benitez's team to gain any kind of foothold in the game, the previous 25 minutes controlled by Swansea and their neat triangles. Once the initiative was wrested from the home side, Chelsea began to look like the superior team but found that the ball would not quite bounce for them in the penalty area. Part of that is down to bad luck though the players themselves were equally culpable of being unable to execute the final killer ball. Angles were worked and space created, only for the pass to be overhit or played with inaccuracy.

Still the signs were there that there would be a second-half onslaught with the Blues dominating and the pressure hopefully being enough to overwhelm their opponents. Unfortunately Swansea managed to maintain their energetic pressing game that denied the Chelsea triumvirate of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar any time on the ball. The cute one-twos between them that has become the hallmark of their interplay were all but shut down and there were few periods after half-time where Chelsea could find any rhythm in advanced areas.

Ramires and Frank Lampard were unable to make any real impact and too often they found themselves crowded out and prevented from creating any forward momentum. The need for a true midfield pivot has been obvious throughout much of the campaign but on Wednesday night it was made even clearer. If Everton's Marouane Fellaini has the buyout clause that the press have been speculating about, then it is time for Roman Abramovich to trigger it. The rugged presence of the Belgian could have helped brush off the close attentions of the Swansea players while introducing a greater quality of distribution from the middle of the pitch.

Another incredibly frustrating aspect of the night was the persistence with long direct passes being hit aimlessly from back to front. Benitez has insisted on the need to get the ball forward quicker but that directive was taken to ridiculous degrees against Swansea. In the first half alone Ivanovic pumped the ball forward under no pressure on countless occasions with the ball ending up nowhere near another blue shirt. The Serb was the biggest culprit. but Gary Cahill was also guilty of ceding pressure and possession for no discernible reason.

The biggest talking point of the night however will inevitably centre around Hazard and the incident with the ballboy. First things first – attempting to kick the ball from underneath the ballboy was an incredibly stupid thing for Hazard to do. It could only ever have ended badly. However, if ever their was a stark example of how the bad habits of professional football and footballers filters down to the younger generation then this was it.

The hosts had clearly instructed all the ballboys to slow the game when the ball went out of play – this flashpoint was not the first time they had been slovenly in their duties - creating the tension in the first place. For that piece of bad sportsmanship alone action should be taken against Swansea. But for the kid in question to actively deny Hazard the ball by first deliberately getting in his way and then lying on the ball to prevent him from getting it while making absolutely no attempt to return the ball to the field of play was scandalous.

Add to that the Cristiano Ronaldo-esque feigning of injury that followed and it is evident that the modern game has corrupted our young players and instilled a cynicism of which nobody should be proud. Hazard probably deserved his punishment and the three-game suspension that will follow but there is a much larger issue at hand here. If the FA want to enhance their "Respect" campaign they would do well to sanction the Welsh club and make it clear such gamesmanship does not persist.

That unsavoury episode aside, I would like to sincerely congratulate Swansea City on reaching their first major Cup final. They totally deserved to go make it to Wembley and it would be a major surprise if they didn't end up lifting the trophy.

For Chelsea and Benitez it is yet another opportunity lost. There is still the chance of silverware in the Europa League and the FA Cup, but this really feels like the one that got away.

Follow Phil Lythell on Twitter @PhilLythell

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