Jonjo Shelvey played for almost an hour as Liverpool Reserves crashed to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Monday night.

The midfielder made his first appearance since early February as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, but was unable to prevent the Reds from slipping to a loss in the Midlands.

The reserves made a dominant start, but were made to pay for a succession of missed chances as Marc Albrighton put the hosts into the lead just after the half-hour mark with a well-taken volley.

Gary Gardner doubled Villa’s advantage three minutes before half-time when he netted from the penalty spot after Andre Wisdom’s foul on Harry Forrester in the box and the home side’s No.10 headed his second of the evening shortly after the break to make it three.

Shelvey exited the action on 56 minutes just prior to Toni Silva reducing the deficit with a fine solo effort.

However, despite their best efforts, Liverpool were unable to breach Villa’s defence again making it a night to forget at Villa Park.

The second string went into the game searching for their first win under the command of Pep Segura.

The Spaniard had overseen two narrow defeats and a battling mini-derby draw in his opening three matches, but his hopes of securing a maiden victory were boosted by the inclusion of first-team players Shelvey and David Ngog in the starting XI.

It was to be Shelvey’s first appearance since figuring as a substitute in the senior side’s 2-0 win against Stoke City on February 4 after picking up a knee injury.

There was an additional pre-match boost for Liverpool after news reached Villa Park of Chelsea’s 2-0 triumph over Blackburn Rovers earlier in the day, meaning the Reds could close the gap on the Lancashire side at the top of the Barclays Premier Reserve League North to just three points with a victory.

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