RESERVES' ROMP SEALS TOP SPOT

  Liverpool Reserves surged to the top of the Barclays Premier Reserve League North after they produced a superb example of attacking football against high-flying Middlesbrough at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Monday.

  Goals from Ronald Huth, Krisztian Nemeth and a double from Jay Spearing secured a convincing 4-0 win over the North-East outfit to ensure Gary Ablett's men edged two points clear of leaders Sunderland going into the Christmas break.

  The Reds were the superior side throughout the 90 minutes and should have taken the lead as early as the second minute, but Nemeth's impish lob from 25-yards flew inches over.

  The Hungarian hot-shot had hit four goals in two reserve outings prior to the match, but his goal touch deserted him again five minutes later, when he followed up his moment of creative genius with a woeful finish from six yards out.

  It was a huge let off for the visitors and they went on to have their best chance of the match on 13 minutes when Stephen Thompson sent a looping header just over David Martin's crossbar.

  It was a rare scare for the Liverpool keeper and proved to be as good as it got for Boro, as the Reds took control of the proceedings on 17 minutes.

  A corner from the right was touched into the path of Ronald Huth who showed great composure to rifle the ball into the roof of the net to give Gary Ablett's men the lead.

  It seemed to knock the confidence out of the away side and the Reds should have doubled their advantage within minutes but both Sebastian Leto and Krisztian Nemeth were brilliantly denied by Matthew Atkinson in the Middlesbrough goal.

  The North-East outfit were struggling to deal with the pace and movement of the Reds' forward line and they were again grateful to their keeper when he kept out Jay Spearing after a sublime link-up with Stephen Darby.

  Only a combination of misfortune and poor finishing prevented Liverpool from going further ahead just before the interval with Damien Plessis firing a shot inches past the post and Nemeth unlucky not to be awarded a spot-kick after he was hauled down in the area.

  In great contrast to their first-half display, Boro made a bright start to the second period and Darby was forced to make a magnificent last-ditch tackle to prevent Ben Hutchinson from equalising.

  It proved to be a telling contribution too, as a moment of magic from Nemeth saw Liverpool double their lead on 52 minutes.

  The Hungarian hot-shot received a short-free kick from Leto and ghosted past his marker before unleashing a venomous drive from 25-yards out, to claim his fifth goal in three matches.

  Ablett's side had struggled to convert their dominance into goals before the Hungarian was drafted into the side recently, but his prolific strike rate must have rubbed off on the rest of his teammates, as the Reds went goal crazy in the remainder of the match.

Jay Spearing was the man with the golden touch, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up to curl home the third on 64 minutes, before he bettered that with the goal of the match 13 minutes from time.

  The midfield maestro hit a magnificent 30-yard free-kick that arced over the despairing dive of Atkinson to put the seal on Liverpool's fourth win in five matches.

  It was a miserable experience for Boro's youngsters, whose night was compounded by the sending off of John Johnson on 69 minutes, after he received a second yellow card for a terrible tackle on Jordy Brouwer.

  Teams:

  Liverpool Reserves: Martin, Darby, Insua, San Jose, Huth, Plessis, Spearing, Crowther (Putterill 65), Brouwer, Nemeth (Pacheco 72), Leto (Duran 75). Subs not used: Gulacsi, Ayala.

  Middlesbrough Reserves: Atkinson, Hines (Harris 51), Cronesberry Bonar 68), Goulon, Johnson, Grounds, Thompson, Arca, Hutchinson, Walker, Owens. Subs not used: Steele, Burton, White.

  Referee: Mr M Matadar.

  Attendance: 1,168.

  Liverpoolfc.tv Man of the match: Jay Spearing: Yet another superb display from the diminutive midfielder. Capped his performance with two magnificent goals.

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