A young Liverpool side battled to a goalless draw in Naples on Thursday night to keep Liverpool top of Group K with five points from three Europa League games.
Hodgson decided to leave star players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres back on Merseyside to allow them to rest ahead of Sunday's vital League match at home to Blackburn. Instead, he started with a blend of experience and youth, as Spearing, Shelvey and Kelly were all given a chance to impress.
The pre-match attacks on Liverpool fans by Napoli's "ultras" left a distinct air of tension and anxiety as the game began with the home supporters creating a formidable and intimidating atmosphere, the likes of which have never been experienced by some of Liverpool's starting eleven.
However, despite the hostile atmosphere Liverpool managed to stifle the Italians for large periods of the game. In fact, the first opportunity of the match went Liverpool's way after 10 minutes had been played.
A great defence-splitting pass from Milan Jovanovic put Babel through on goal, but a terrible first touch from the Dutchman led him away from goal and the chance was lost. If he had kept control of the ball then he would have had a clear shot on goal and a great chance of grabbing the crucial first goal.
Napoli were keeping possession of the ball and controlling the play, however they failed to seriously test the Reds defence until the 17th minute. Ex-Liverpool player Andrea Dossena whipped a dangerous ball into the box, but Konchesky headed it behind at the back post.
From the resulting corner, Napoli went close to taking the lead as Maggio found the target with a strike, but Liverpool eventually scrambled the ball clear. Two minutes later Lavezzi smashed well over from distance as Liverpool continued to frustrate their opponents.
Cavani even resorted to an Alonso-esque effort from his own half minutes before the half hour mark. Thankfully, it sailed over the bar without troubling Reina, as Liverpool began to grow in confidence.
This poise was demonstrated by the visitors on 33 minutes after a good period of neat passing ended with Shelvey and Spearing swapping passes on the edge of the penalty area, before the debutant tested the keeper with a low strike from 25 yards.
It wasn't too taxing for the keeper, however the possession football beforehand and the link up between Spearing and Shelvey were reasons to hope that Liverpool could possibly sneak a win from a game the many fans expected to lose.
After that, Shelvey displayed his talent and potential once again as he played two wonderful balls into the box. Unfortunately, neither led to a goalscoring chance as Ngog headed the first pass down to nobody, before failing to anticipate the second beautiful ball.
Liverpool's positive finish to the first half almost turned sour during injury time when appalling defending from a Napoli corner gave the home side their first real chance. A goalmouth scramble followed, finishing with Konchesky clearing off the line to thwart Hamsik.
The first half had been successful for the away side, who almost certainly would have accepted a 0-0 scoreline going into the second period. The aim now was to maintain the current standard of defending, while also endeavouring to grab a goal on the counter-attack.
However, this plan was nearly destroyed on 54 minutes when the home side opened Liverpool up. An incisive attack eventually ended with Cavani's weak shot being stopped by Reina, after he had received the ball in a threatening position around the penalty spot.
Good pressure from Konchesky had denied him the chance to power the ball home, allowing Reina to make a much easier save than anticipated.
The home side went close again on the hour mark, as Maggio raced to the by-line on the right before cutting a cross back to Cavani, who rose above Skrtel and Kyrgiakos to drop a header narrowly wide.
Napoli had been making the majority of the opportunities so far in the second half, however the best chance fell to Ryan Babel with just over 20 minutes left, as the game began to open up slightly.
The impressive Jovanovic brilliantly cut inside from the right flank and found Babel in space on the left hand edge of the penalty box. The angle and position were perfect for him, but the shot was anything but as De Sanctis kept out his weak, close range effort.
Liverpool had another great chance on 81 minutes after an excellent turn from David Ngog in the area earned him a yard of space close to goal. Ngog tried to quickly convert, but Aronica blocked his shot well to keep the scores level.
Napoli had one last chance to break Red hearts late into injury time when Liverpool casually lost possession inside their own half. Lavezzi attempted to make us pay for our laziness, but he shot high and wide to the relief of the away side.
Although Hodgson's men showed little in the way of attacking football for large spells, overall there were many positives to take from the match. Most prominently, the performance of Jonjo Shelvey was a major plus point.
The former Charlton man looked composed on the ball, and showed a great passing range throughout the match. He also managed to last for the whole 90 minutes of the intense battle that was his Liverpool debut.
Jay Spearing also played well, displaying a confidence and control on the ball going forward rarely shown by his rivals for the role in the centre of midfield, namely Lucas and Poulsen.
I was also delighted with the display of Milan Jovanovic. Although he has been left out recently, he didn't let this affect him as he was our main threat in attack. His strength on the ball was also key to keeping possession.
Martin Skrtel was another played who impressed me, as the Slovakian remained resolute at the back.
This game can hardly be considered a turning point in our season, however it is one of the many stepping-stones needed if we are to return to winning ways.
Let's hope another stone arrives on Sunday.
YNWA
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