Manchester City Reserves 2 - 3 Liverpool Reserves
Jordy Brouwer hit a dramatic late winner and Krisztian Nemeth fired a debut double as Liverpool Reserves clinched a 3-2 win over Manchester City at the Regional Athletics Arena.
The Dutchman was on hand to fire home his third league goal of the season on 87 minutes to ensure the Reds leapfrogged their opponents into third place in the Barclays Premier Reserve League North after City had twice come back to level.
The match had seemed like being the Nemeth show early on, as the highly-rated 18-year-old striker, who arrived from MTK Hungaria in the summer, marked an eye-catching appearance with a first-half brace.
The home side began the contest with real purpose but they were stunned as early as the second minute when Liverpool broke forward to take the lead with their first attack of the match.
Jay Spearing was the architect of the move, playing a defence splitting pass through to Nemeth who marked his debut in style when he showed great composure to slot the ball beyond the advancing Filip Mentel in the City goal.
It knocked the wind out of the home side's sails and the Reds could have doubled their advantage nine minutes later but Nabil El Zhar's low cross was brilliantly cleared at the near post with the dangerous Nemeth lurking.
A scrappy opening was then marred by an injury to City's highly-rated England youth international Javan Vidal on 21 minutes, who left the field on a stretcher after a collision with one of his own teammates.
The incident seemed to spur Ian Miller's side into life and they created their first real opportunity of the match on 27 minutes when Kelvin Etuhu's drilled cross shot from the right was deflected just wide of debutant keeper Peter Gulacsi's far post, with David Ball inches away from tapping home the equaliser.
Liverpool responded and when Spearing fed El Zhar, the Moroccan jinked past one and played a great ball to Nemeth who was unlucky not double his tally when he saw his effort crash back off the near post.
The visitors were in the ascendancy and it should have been all over on 39 minutes but Ray Putterill was thwarted by the agility of City keeper Filip Mental, after a flowing move involving Nemeth, El Zhar and Spearing.
It proved to be a significant save too as they made Liverpool pay for their inability to make their dominance count a minute later when a free-kick from the right was hooked in at the near post by David Ball to give the hosts a surprise equaliser.
But they would be level for just two minutes as a frantic finish to the first period saw Nemeth grab his second of the match when he headed home at the far post after Putterill's left-wing corner deceived Mentel.
The second period began in a similar fashion to the first with City keen to exert some kind of authority on the proceedings and Ball had City's first real opportunity when he had three efforts magnificently blocked inside the area.
Nemeth then missed a great chance to complete his hat-trick seconds later as both sides went close.
It was the last action the Hungarian starlet would see and it was his replacement Daniel Pacheco who had the Reds' next opportunity when he flashed a shot inches past the post after his initial effort was brilliantly blocked by Mentel on 69 minutes.
Ablett's men had had enough chances to sew up the victory by this point but they were again made to curse their inability to finish sides off as Ball poached his second of the match on 73 minutes after a low ball into the area found him in space inside the six yard box.
Both teams then had chances to win it before Brouwer secured the points on 87 minutes when he fired home from close range after Stephen Darby had crossed from the right.
Teams: Man City Reserves: Mentel, Vidal (Obeng 21), Williamson, Mee, Breen (McDonald 71), Clayton (Daly 54), Etuhu, Grimes, Ball, Marshall, Moore
Liverpool Reserves: Gulacsi, Darby, Insua, Kelly, San Jose, Spearing (Huth 90), Plessis, El Zhar, Brouwer, Nemeth (Pacheco 68), Putterill (Crowther 81)
Referee: Mr P Quinn
Liverpoolfc.tv Man of the Match: Jay Spearing: Another inspired display from the midfield man. At the heart of Liverpool's best attacks.
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