Blackburn Res 0 Liverpool Res 1

Apr 8 2008 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo

LIVERPOOL'S second string clinched the Premier Reserve League North with a 1-0 win at Blackburn.

Krisztian Nemeth scored the winner at Christie Park, and team captain Stephen Darby will receive the trophy before Thursday's home game against Manchester City at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.

Nemeth's goal came during the first half, the 19-year-old holding off a last ditch challenge from his marker before toe poking the ball past Blackburn keeper Gunnar Nielsen.

If Nemeth took all the glory for the finish, diminutive Spanish starlet Dani Pacheco deserves a share of the credit for setting up the goal with a wonderful through ball which totally split the Rovers defence.

The triumph is a remarkable achievement for Liverpool as the majority of the team were signed from abroad over the last 18 months and have been moulded into a title winning outfit by Gary Ablett.

European chief scout Eduardo Macia has overseen a drive to recruit young players from the continent to bolster the club's reserve ranks in the short term and hopefully provide greater competition for places in the first team in years to come.

The first part of this policy has paid immediate dividends with a comprehensive title triumph and with Damien Plessis having made the step up from reserve team regular to Premiership debutant against Arsenal at the weekend, the future looks bright.

Plessis had to settle for a place on the bench last night following his exertions at The Emirates on Saturday but there were plenty of other potential stars of the future on show with Hungarian prodigy Nemeth stealing the limelight.

Having taken the lead, Liverpool never looked like letting the hosts back into the game, largely thanks to the sterling efforts of their back four which has progressed and improved with every passing game.

In their last nine fixtures, Liverpool have kept eight clean sheets, a statistic which underlines the efforts of the likes of Stephen Darby, Ronald Huth, Mikel San Jose, Daniel Ayala and Emiliano Insua.

Liverpool Res: Martin, Darby, Insua, San Jose, Huth, Ayala (Plessis 77), El Zhar, Spearing, Pacheco (Bruna 59), Nemeth (Simon 77), Flynn.

tonybarrett@liverpoolecho.co.uk