A Liverpool XI produced a solid performance as they held an experienced Wrexham outfit to a 0-0 draw on their home patch on Wednesday night.
A youthful side, managed by reserve team boss John McMahon, edged a lively encounter and could have earned a hard-fought victory had they shown a bit more composure when presented with a clear sight of goal.
The visitors kicked off the clash at the Racecourse Ground with a quiet confidence but could have fallen behind as early as the second minute when Andy Mangan glanced a header wide of the near post following a low cross from the right.
Liverpool responded and after Jesus Fernandez, or Suso as he is also known, went close with a swirling free-kick they should have broken the deadlock on 16 minutes.
Suso turned into space on the halfway line and sent a delicious ball into the path of Nikola Saric. The forward outfoxed his marker but hit a tame shot straight at Dragons 'keeper Chris Maxwell when a bit more venom would surely have brought with it the opening goal.
As the half came to a close both sides continued to enjoy neat passages of attacking football, with Toni Silva unlucky to see his stabbed effort deflect wide of the near post after he had pounced upon a misplaced clearance by Wrexham full-back, Neil Ashton.
Buoyed by an impressive first 45, the Reds started the second half in a similar vein and were presented with a golden opportunity when Frank Sinclair was penalised for a back pass on 50 minutes. However, Vincent Weijl could not keep his driven effort down and the Dragons were left to breathe a sigh of relief.
At the other end Dean Bouzanis had rarely been called into action, but he could have done little to deny Kevin Gall had the winger's teasing lob dropped just a few inches lower on the hour mark.
In the final stages of the game there was little to choose between the teams, but Mangan did have a glorious chance to win it for the hosts when he raced clean through, only to be denied by some outstanding goalkeeping by Bouzanis who gathered at his feet.
Liverpool XI: Bouzanis, Flanagan (Giglio 61), Mendy (Sokolik 75), Cooper, Wisdom, Coady, Silva (Hatch 80), Kohlert (Roberts 46), Saric (Ngoo 46), Suso (McGiveron 67), Weijl. Unused sub: Stephens.
