LIVERPOOL boss Rafa Benitez paid his first visit to The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Tuesday as the Reds' reserves were held to a 0-0 draw by 10-man Blackburn in the Barclays Premier Reserve League (North) in front of a crowd of 2,097.
Benitez and former Bolton manager Sammy Lee, who has been linked with a return to Anfield as assistant manager, sat side by side in the stand but did not see a goal despite a youthful Liverpool side having a one-man advantage for almost an hour.
Blackburn, who selected several experienced players including Finnish goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and Dutch under 21 international striker Maceo Rigters, saw returning Republic of Ireland star Steven Reid limp off with a slight recurrence of a hamstring injury after 28 minutes.
And four minutes later young German midfielder Sergio Peter was sent off for kicking out at Liverpool's Argentinian winger Sebastian Leto, with Rovers reserve boss Glyn Hodges racing to the touchline to remonstrate with the referee for ignoring Leto's initial challenge.
The skilful Leto was Liverpool's brightest player in the first half but faded as the Reds struggled to break down Blackburn, who produced the sort of tenacious display that first-team boss Mark Hughes would have been proud of.
Leto has made four first-team appearances this season and Liverpool reserve boss Gary Ablett said: "He did play very well in the first half.
"He has the ability to take people on and we're trying to get him to do that consistently because it didn't come off for him in the second half."
Reserve team captain Jack Hobbs, making his first appearance at Warrington after being involved with the first-team squad in recent weeks, said: "I think it was there to win with the amount of possession we had. But we lacked that killer instinct and that final pass."
Liverpool: David Martin; Stephen Darby, Jack Hobbs, Ronald Huth (Gerardo Bruna 79mins), Emiliano Insua; Ray Putterill (Dani Pacheco 46mins), Mikel San Jose, Damien Plessis, Sebastian Leto; Jay Spearing; Jordy Brouwer. Subs not used: (Peter Gulacsi, Martin Kelly, Daniel Ayala.
Blackburn: Peter Enckelman; Martin Olsson, Dean Winnard, Bruno Berner, Andrew Taylor; Sergio Peter, Steven Reid (Alan Judge 28mins), Rostyn Griffiths, Keith Treacy; Maceo Rigters, Jamie Clarke (Aaron Doran 46mins). Subs not used: Andreas Arestidou, Mark King, Marcus Marshall.
* Liverpool's next game at The Halliwell Jones Stadium is the mini derby' against Everton on Tuesday, December 4, which will kick off at the later time of 7.30pm in a bid to ease crowd congestion.
The Reds' home match against Middlesbrough, previously scheduled for March, will now be played on Monday, December 10, at 7pm.
