Eccleston Brace Earns Point

Nathan Eccleston blasted home a double as Liverpool Reserves claimed a 3-3 draw in an enthralling encounter at Blackburn on Tuesday night.

The Reds started brightly and got off to a flyer when Danny Wilson and Eccleston (penalty) put them in the driving seat inside 25 minutes.

However, Josh Morris reduced the arrears with a stunning free-kick before two goals in three second-half minutes from Junior Hoilett and Matty Pearson turned the game on its head.

With time running out, John McMahon's men poured forward and deservedly snatched a share of the spoils when Eccleston steered home Wilson's clipped cross at the far post.

It capped a pulsating 90 minutes of football and brought an end to the second-string's run of two straight defeats.

Ahead of the clash, the Reds boss had urged his youngsters to add a ruthless streak to the inventive approach play that has earned them so many admirers so far this season.

Indeed, just five goals from their first five matches suggested the Reds needed to be more clinical in front of goal but their cause was aided by the return to the line-up of Spanish whizz kid, Suso.

The youngster has made a fine impression since coming to the fore during the summer and he made an immediate impact in Lancashire, setting up the opener on six minutes.

The diminutive No.10 sent an inviting right wing corner to the far post where Wilson ghosted in to power a header in off the crossbar.

It was the perfect start for the visitors and, after surviving a spell of intense Rovers pressure, they should have doubled their lead on the quarter of an hour mark.

A lightning break saw Suso play a sublime outside of the foot ball into the path of Tom Ince, allowing the left winger the time to size up the opportunity and crash a shot against the crossbar, with Mark Bunn well beaten.

The home side were clearly struggling to cope with Liverpool's pace on the counter attack and on 25 minutes the Reds put together a piece of play that led to their second goal of the match.

A flowing move down the left saw Ince test Bunn with a fierce volley on the turn and as Eccleston chased down the rebound he was brought tumbling to the ground by Gavin Gunning.

The referee pointed to the spot allowing the No.9 to step up and outfox the Rovers stopper with a composed finish that followed an 'Aldo shuffle'.

At this point the hosts would have felt hard done by given their dominance in the early exchanges, but they dug deep and pulled a goal back just two minutes later.

A free-kick was awarded on the left edge of the visitors' penalty area, providing Morris with the opportunity to fizz a stunning 25 yard effort beyond the despairing dive of Martin Hansen.

The goal revitalised the home side and, although Eccleston should have restored the two-goal cushion when he lobbed wide when sent clear, Rovers began the second period in the ascendancy.

Some good work on the right side of the penalty area by Hoilett saw the forward tee up Michael Potts but the midfielder's low shot cannoned back off the near post via the knee of Hansen.

The chance merely served to increase the pressure on the Reds' young defence and on 51 minutes the hosts drew level. Hansen misjudged Jackson Ramm's run into the area, allowing the substitute to square the ball across the six yard box for Hoilett to gleefully sweep it into an unguarded net.

If that was a moment to forget for the Reds stopper, then it got even worse just three minutes later when Pearson prodded home from close range after he had completely missed his punch following a right wing corner.

The attacking verve that had caused Rovers so many problems in the first 45 was now conspicuous by its absence, but just when it looked like a third defeat on the spin was on the cards for McMahon's men, they put together a move that dragged them level on 80 minutes.

A left-wing free-kick was only partially cleared by the Blackburn defence, giving Wilson the chance to pull wide on the right side of the box and send in a superb cross for Eccleston to steer home at the far post.

With time running out the Reds pushed for what would surely be a winner and, although Steven Irwin and Pacheco both went close, they could not find the finish to claim a famous victory.