Tom Ince struck a superb winner as Liverpool Reserves kept their hopes of retaining the Senior Cup alive with a 2-1 win at Prescot Cables on Tuesday night.
The young winger cut in from the right and unleashed a left foot curler on 23 minutes after a Gerardo Bruna penalty had cancelled out ex-Red Jason Massie's opener.
It capped a solid all-round display from John McMahon's young side who showed great maturity to overcome the blow of conceding an early goal to fight back and book a place in the last four.
In their previous outing the second-string had been able to call upon the services of Joe Cole and Danny Wilson but on a mild night at Valerie Park, it was captain John Flanagan and Ince who were the more senior names on the team sheet.
The hosts would have hoped to take advantage of such a young Reds outfit and after Jason Banton went close with a low shot, they took the lead on eight minutes.
A speculative 25 yard shot from Massie looked to be a comfortable save for Dean Bouzanis in the Liverpool goal, but the Australian somehow allowed the ball to slip through his grasp and give the home side the perfect start.
On an uneven pitch McMahon's charges suddenly found themselves up against it but within three minutes they were handed a lifeline.
A marauding run down the right by Ince was brought to an abrupt halt by Mark Calland leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot. Bruna stepped up and coolly converted to pull the visitors level.
The goal seemed to breathe life into Liverpool's attacking players and Bruna should have had his second of the match on 22 minutes when he angled a shot just off target after a clever through pass by Nikola Saric.
However, the visitors didn't have long to wait for their second goal as Ince showed some real class to curl home just 60 seconds later. The 19-year-old picked up a smart pass by Flanagan and drifted beyond three challenges before coolly curving into the far corner of Michael Langley's net.
The strike was met with smiles by the watching Dani Pacheco, who had taken his place in the stand to watch the match alongside Academy director, Frank McParland.
The Reds maintained their lead up to the interval and should have extended it on 57 minutes when Banton's dazzling run and shot was thwarted by some expert goalkeeping by Langley.
Saric then had a goal ruled out for offside after a neat one-two with Bruna before Cables came close when substitute Jake Ellis thundered a 25 yarder against the crossbar. Freddie Potter was first to the rebound but Bouzanis made up for his earlier error with a terrific stop.
Liverpool continued to look the more likely to add to the scoresheet and Bruna twice went close with free-kicks from distance.
With time running out the home side pushed forward leaving gaps at the back and Ince should have sealed victory when he burst clean through on goal, only to clip his effort wide of the far post.
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