Matthew Cain's blog

Liverpool reserves beat Everton reserves comfortably in the mini derby, despite the 1-0 scoreline and the best efforts of Robbie Threlfall. It’s a fantastic run for the young reserve team but for me the realy story of the night was Zsolt Poloskei. 

The reds started confidently and bossed the game in a way that they have not yet done this season, despite missing a number of key players to injury, international duty and first team duties. 

The goal came after a sustained period of pressure from Liverpool but in truth, there were few clear-cut chances at the end of it. Just before halftime Nathan Eccleston ran at the Everton defenders and was brought down and then coverted the penalty with his now-trademark Aldo-shuffle. 

The second half started slowly, despite Everton coming out at least 5 minutes before kick-off. Everton had a brief period of dominance but Mavinga and Palsson (as a make-shift centrehalf) were very solid. Everton won a penalty after a clear handball from Threlfall – who was also lucky not to have setup the Everton forward with a poor backpass. Gulacsi would have saved the penalty, but the Everton striker hit the outside of the post. 

The game was punctuated by some terrible tackles from Everton and frankly three different players were lucky not to have been sent off. I try to remain objective on nights like this – not least because as a referee there’s nothing worse than people screaming at you in games that matter less. But this appeared organised and ill-disciplined. At least the referee was consistent but a nasty, late foul was all Jose ‘the new Rooney’ Baxter contributed. 

The reds were particularly effective in the middle of the park. Stevie Irwin – captain for the night – delivered the sort of performance that Academy-watchers had been predicting. He’s been growing in the centre midfield role over the last couple of games and looks more comfortable there than at left or right back. He has a tendency to pick an over ambitious pass and lose the ball but you can’t fault the intention. 

The real story of the night was Zsolt Poloskei. The Hungarian is on loan from partner club MTK Hungaria. He spent the whole of his first year out with a knew injury but the loan deal was extended and he has just started to break into the side. Tonight he played wonderfully well. Poloseki was energetic, confident in the tackle and could pick a pass. He broke forward well and knew when to defend. In fact, he reminded me of Lucas – but that’s a whole other debate. Really sadly, his game was cut short when his knee buckled after the (only) innocuous challenge of the night. I felt absolutely gutted seeing him carried off on a stretcher so god knows what went through his mind. Get better soon, Zsolt. 

David Fairclough gave Chris Mavinga man of the match, which was a fair decision. I was impressed by Eccleston’s application after more games in recent days than most – and the come down after being involved in the first team to playing in Widnes for the reserves (when other teammates were in Lyon). But for me, Zsolt Poloskei’s performance was so full of promise – and cut so cruelly short, that it deserved wider recognition. 

Next game: Liverpool reserves v Hull reserves, 10 November