After going down 3-0 to Alfreton Town on Saturday Hatters boss Richard Money was delighted that his side returned to winning ways by beating a Liverpool XI by the same scoreline in the first home friendly of pre-season.

Goals from Matthew Barnes-Homer, Danny Crow and Dan Gleeson put a young Reds' team to sword in a game brimming with positives to take away, none more so than beating a side that had dispatched Oldham Athletic's first team at the weekend.

"I said after Alfreton that we shouldn't read too much into that result," Money told lutontown.co.uk afterwards. "I thought we did okay on for an hour and should have been in front but we died in terms of energy levels after we conceded the second.

"They were tired because we've worked them hard so far this pre-season and it proved to be a wake-up call, but we've worked hard since and that showed tonight.

"We looked fresher, sharper and the fitness levels were good, and as a manager, I think I've got pretty much everything I wanted out of it.

"People might say it was only a young Liverpool side, and granted there we no stars on the team-sheet, but there are players there that they have played a lot of money for.

"They beat Oldham's first team 3-0 in the Lancashire Senior Cup last week and I think our result is a testimony to the quality of our performance.

"We played well with the ball but played extremely well without it. The organisation was good and it was nice to see the two strikers score.

"We've moved the ball well, kept the ball well and another pleasing aspect was the way we defended from the front.

"I know what we're capable of and there were some really good things tonight. The passing was quick and precise.

"We need to make sure that's the case during the season and, if we are, that will stand us in good stead in what will be a difficult campaign."

With Barnes-Homer and Crow on target, and a host of players impressing in the starting XI. The manager sure has a selection headache over the next two-and-half weeks before Altrincham visit for the opening game of the Blue Square Bet Premier season.

So was the starting line-up against Liverpool the shape of things to come?

"You better ask Kevin Gallen, Tom Craddock and Claude Gnakpa," Money said. "Maybe there were players who played well at the end of last season who thought they were shoo-ins.

"I decided to play Matthew to give him a chance to shine in front of the home supporters because he has done well so far this summer while Danny has arguably been our best striker in pre-season.

"They looked good together and they've certain thrown down the gauntlet to two other strikers.

"It's a nice position to be in but we're always looking at improving."