Kids watch recap: Németh nets brace as Reserves crush Everton, Lindfield returns to LFC, Peltier Injured, & more

Krisztián Németh netted a pair for the second straight contest as the Reserves took the mini-derby, three to nil, at Halliwell Jones. It also saw the return of 19-year-old Spanish midfielder Francisco Durán, who came on in the 76th minute after being out for nine months with a knee injury. Leto was apparently quiet throughout, but Nabil El Zhar garnered Man of the Match honors from the official site. The squad currently sits 6th on the Premier Reserve League North table, but with a match-in-hand over everyone else except Middlesborough, they could go atop when they host 'Boro on December 10th.

Plenty of kids-on-loan yesterday found their names on the starting sheet, though no one managed to net. Most surprisingly may be Adam Hammill, who got the call for just the third time this season from George Burnley. The good news is, the Saints didn't lose this time as they have Hammill's previous two starts, the bad news is they not only didn't win, but failed to score as well in the 0-0 result at St. Mary's.

Paul Anderson returned to the starting line-up for Swansea and helped them win 3-0 over Northampton. The 19-year-old winger played the entire match, so it appears his injury worries are behind him. The three points keeps the Swans atop the League One table with now only Carlisle having a chance to overtake them with their match-in-hand. Coincidentally enough, the two sides meet on December 22nd.

Godwin Antwi started for Hartlepool and they actually won, 3-1, over Tranmere. The 'Pool had been winless in the five previous League One matches with Antwi from the outset, posting an 0-1-4 over that span. Unfortunately, the Rovers loan goal was due to a free kick on a questionable foul committed by the 19-year-old.

The only other player to see the pitch for his temporary club was Lee Peltier at Yeovil Town. The 20-year-old defender/midfielder started for the Glovers in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth, but was taken off in the 58th minute after suffering some sort of knock. I've yet to find any details about the injury, but will post accordingly.

In shocking news, Besian Idrizaj was no where to be found for Crystal Palace, though the Eagles did defeat QPR and their Chelsea on-loan contingency at Loftus Road, 2-1. Ryan Flynn failed to make his debut for Hereford United.

Finally, Craig Lindfield has ended his one month on-loan spell at Meadow Lane. Notts County no longer required the services of the 19-year-old after their roster was boosted by the return of a couple of injured strikers. It's probably not the best of times for Lindfield to return to the Reserves with the emergence of Németh and Jordy Brouwer playing well, but I guess he'd have to fight for a spot anyhow.

The only kid in action over the next two days is Danny Guthrie, as Bolton take on Red Star Belgrade at the Marakana in an UEFA Cup tie tomorrow. A win gives the Wanderers a decent chance to get through to the knockout stages, but a draw or loss puts too much emphasis on the results of group rival, Sporting Braga, who have a match more to play and sit just a point behind Bolton. Cheers.

Kids recap: Paul Anderson injured as Swans go top & Németh nets brace in Reserves victory

The news out of Swansea is that Paul Anderson had to leave the match with Hartlepool United today in the 53rd minute due to a knee injury. No word on the extent of the knock as of yet, but he was able to 'limp off' the pitch. Despite losing the speedy, young winger, the Swans were able to win 1-0 on an 82nd minute strike from Spanish defender Angel Rangel. It was Rangel's first goal for the club and put his side atop the League One table with 31 points and a +11 goal difference. As soon as I hear anything about the fitness of Anderson, I'll be sure to mention his status in a post.

Also in that match, Godwin Antwi started and played the full ninety for the Monkey Hangers, so I guess he's back in the good graces of manager Danny Wilson. As for our other on-loan boys, Adam Hammill got a rare start for Southampton and played the full match, but failed to be a factor in the Saints 0-2 loss at Ipswich. Besian Idrizaj wasn't even on the Crystal Palace squad who beat Preston North End 2-1 at home. Neil Warnock and Liverpool aren't exactly on the best of terms dating back to the Gérard Houllier days and leading up to last year when Warnock blamed Liverpool for playing weak sides that essentially assisted in Sheffield United's relegation. I hope Idrizaj isn't suffering the brunt of Warnock's Liverpool disdain since the young striker signed with club on a one-year loan back before Warnock became their manager. Hopefully Rafa is keeping an eye on the situation.

Finally, our Reserves side notched a 3-2 win at Man City to go third on the Barclays Premier Reserve League North table. A brace from Hungarian debutant Krisztián Németh along with a strike from Jordy Brouwer with three minutes in regulation supplied the goals. It's got to be encouraging that a side missing three of it's more important players can go on the road and beat a quality side like City. The Reserves next match is scheduled a week from today when Everton visits Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Today's Banter: Kewell is back!, Torres still out, Rafa does what he wants, & more

- It looks like there's a good chance both Harry Kewell and Fabio Aurelio will feature for the Reserves versus Newcastle on Thursday. It would be brilliant if we had everyone healthy by the first match in November.

- Unfortunately Torres' return will have to wait until Sunday, hopefully by then he'll be ready to go since it's Arsenal and all. Obviously that means that the Spanish striker won't be available for tomorrow's crucial Champions League clash at Besiktas. No word on whether Xabi will be available either.

- Rafa will sub Gerrard again if he sees fit, so get over it. This is Rafa's team not Stevie-G's and certainly not yours. By the way, fellow Liverpool fans, don't listen to all the spew from the press and especially learn to laugh at what fans of other sides have to say, they don't know nor care what's best for our boys.

- I worry when Benitez starts to praise player's character, particularly when that player is as experienced as Sami Hyypia. To me it means our long journey with the Finnish Legend is nearing an end.

- Finally I hope our boys back their words tomorrow and get us the three points. Anything less would be devastating. Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano seem to be taking this upcoming fixture very seriously, which is good to hear, but knowing Benitez they'll probably both be on the bench when the opening whistle blows tomorrow. Cheers.

Harry Kewell could return for derby

Well, the vagueness of this article has me rolling my eyes, but apparently the Aussie could be back for our October 20th date at Goodison Park. That would be quite a boost if it's the case.

There's also a chance that Xabi could return for that match as well. I don't think we need either player nor Agger to win at Everton and especially don't want Rafa to rush anyone, which he rarely does anyhow. It's always nice to have a full squad though, particularly when the three players set to return are of that class.

By the way, the Reserves play Man U away on Thursday. I'll be interested to see who's included in that squad. Certainly Leto and Lucas will make their returns to the side and it would be great to see Kewell get a running out, but I won't hold my breathe.

Both Paul Anderson & Robbie Fowler scored today

Paul Anderson scored again for League One side, Swansea, in their 2-1 win over Swindon Town. The 19-year-old Leicester product is out on loan to the Swans for the season. It was his fourth overall goal for the club this season and his second in league play.

Robbie Fowler also netted. The former Liverpool Legend turned Cardiff City striker scored a penalty in the 45th minute of their match with Sheffield United. The Bluebirds eventually went up 3-1, but weren't able to hold on to the lead and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

Finally, the Reserves lost to Sunderland, 1-0, with a side that was without Sebastian Leto nor Lucas. Maybe that means we'll see them tomorrow? According to the report from the official site, our boys were unlucky not to score a few times against the more experienced Black Cats side. Cheers.

Anfield Banter: Xabi & Agger injured, Riise fit though, Leto stars in Reserves win, & more

- Both Danny Agger and Xabi Alonso will be out up to six weeks with foot injuries. With Riise declared fit for our upcoming Birmingham match at Anfield on Saturday, we should be fine, but once again after seemingly getting out of depth issues concerning our backline, we're nearly right back where we started from. Aurelio coming back is a huge boost as Arbeloa will no longer be needed to share duty on the left. I expect him to play a lot in the middle in front of Hyypia and on the right when Finnan needs the occasional day off. Riise has centre back experience as well if needed.

- The Reserves beat Wigan 3-0 behind two assists from winger Sebastian Leto to remain undefeated in FA Premiership Reserves League (Northern Division) play. Jordy Brouwer scored his first goal for Liverpool as Nabil El Zhar and Ray Putterill also netted. I fully expect at least Leto and Lucas to be featured in our Carling Cup tie with Reading next week.

- Finally, Palermo forward Amauri Carvalho has been linked to a summer move to Liverpool. The 27-year-old Brazilian scored 8 goals in 18 league games before suffering a serious knee injury to end his season. He has returned to action since. He seems like a good player, but seriously, if only he's coming on board to replace Crouch would it make sense. Even then I expect a bigger name.

Today's Banter: Aurelio returns, What about Harry?, Rafa laughs off Reina offer, & more

- Fabio Aurelio made an unexpected early return to action today as the Reserves beat a Crewe Alexandra Reserves side, 2-1, behind goals by Xabi Alonso and Ray Putterill. The 27-year-old Left Back played an impressive 45 minutes. This is great news, if he's able to play this Saturday against Portsmouth, it allows Arbeloa to play on the right if Finnan isn't fit or even in the middle with Carra if Agger or Hyypia are fatigued.

- Despite reports that he was also set to make his return against today, apparently Harry Kewell did not line-up against the Crewe Reserves side. Hopefully there will be a mention of his status when the full match report is published on the official site. The only good news is that Kewell was included on our 23-man Champions League roster, so obviously Rafa is expecting him to return to action sometime in the near future.

- Rafa has dismissed any talk of Pepe leaving to go to Atletico Madrid or anywhere else for that matter. I kind of figured it was a load of donkey dung, but again, £10m for a keeper is not an amount to scoff at especially when you have the likes of Scott Carson available to replace him.

- A FIFA source has revealed that Peter Crouch was not singled-out by referees at the World Cup, but an incident where Crouchy pulled at the hair of a Trinidad and Tobago defender as he headed in a goal was brought to the attention of match officials. There's a picture of the incident to accompany the article and honestly, I don't see how the striker can be giving himself an advantage by being anchored down by someone's hair as he jumps. Call me crazy, but wouldn't that prevent him from jumping higher, it looks like accidental contact if you ask me.

- The U18s won on Saturday versus Nottingham Forrest, 3-1, behind a brace from German Marvin Pourie and a goal by Scot Gary MacKay Steven. 16-year-old English striker David Amoo was apparently quite impressive himself. Just taking a peek at the U18/Academy roster, we have quite the international mix with players from seven different countries, though a large majority, 13, are English.

- Finally, here's a nice piece from Liverpool Legend Ian Rush on Rafa's recent decision not to replace his number two, Pako Ayesteran. It's interesting to read what role such a person plays on a club and why it's not a good idea to replace them in haste. Cheers everyone.

Today's Banter: Carra training, Atletico want Reina, Crouch stalls contract, Cheryl Cole praises fans, & Kewell returns!!!

- Reports are that Carra returned to training today and will be ready for action on Saturday when we travel to Portsmouth. Great news considering how many players we have out on international duty including Hyypia and Agger. Hopefully everyone will return fit and rested, Pompey at Fratton Park will be no easy test.

- Apparently Atletico Madrid are keen on Pepe Reina and are putting together a bid for him in the realm of £10m to offer LFC in the January transfer window. Whether this is true or not, I wonder if Rafa would consider selling Pepe. £10m is a respectable offer and we do have Scott Carson on the books yet on loan to Aston Villa. I doubt he'd sell him in January though unless he could recall Carson.

- Peter Crouch, who's current contract expires at the end of next season, has apparently been offered a three year extension from the club. Supposedly though, he's withholding his signature to see what kind of playing time he's going to get this season. What an ass, he knows what kind of playing time he's going to get, so he needs to commit his future or gotten rid of. I've been for the latter for the past year or so anyhow.

- Cheryl Cole has praised Liverpool fans for their unconditional love of their club and players and thinks England fans should be the same way. The problem is fans of Liverpool know that the people who run their club, love LFC, while those who run England, the FA, do things that say otherwise. For starters, they would have gotten a class coach at what ever cost.

- Harry Kewell returns to action tomorrow night for the Reserves versus Crewe Alexandra Reserves. Well, that's promising. I'm hoping he'll be able to play this Saturday so we can give Babel and Yossi a little rest from International duty. Despite the rise of the new signings, we need Kewell as a key contributor this season if we want to go after all the silverware. Cheers.

Liverpool Reserves 1, Middlesborough Reserves 1: the highlights

Here are the video highlights from Tuesdays Reserves 1-1 draw with the Middlesborough Reserves. The 'Hand of God' goal from 'Boro is about 1:30 into the video and the penalty incident for Liverpool is about 6:30 into the highlights. Cheers.

'Hand of God' gets Middlesborough Reserves a draw, Paul Anderson scores for Swansea

According to the match report on the official site, the Middlesborough Reserves side featuring Gaizka Mendieta and Lee Cattermole needed a 'Hand of God' a la Diego Maradona goal to draw 1-1 with our Reserves. Our goal was scored by Ray Putterill from the spot after a handball was called on Boro defender Jonathan Grounds in the box. Apparently Sebastian Leto was unstoppable and Lucas Leiva put in a solid match as well, but we were either unlucky or sloppy on our finishes. The next Reserves match will be on September 19th against Wigan Athletic at their place.

In other news, Paul Anderson has scored his second goal for Swansea City, netting in the 16th minute of Swansea's 3-2 League Trophy win over Millwall. It was Anderson's third start for the Swans, though he has played in three League One matches. His first goal for his out-on-loan club was in League Cup play against Walsall. The irony of the match was that the deciding goal was an Own Goal by former Liverpool defender, American Zak Whitbread.