Source: Liverpool_Echo
Liverpool FC young gun Stephen Darby ready to learn the hard way
Stephen Darby 300[LNB]SECOND chances in football, if they happen to arrive, are priceless. Few know that better than Stephen Darby.[LNB]While Rafa Benitez was relieved to escape the Madejski Stadium safe in the knowledge Liverpool would have another opportunity to secure a place in the FA Cup fourth round, it was a bittersweet evening for Darby.[LNB]On one hand, there was the inevitable sense of frustration; he, like his team-mates, wanted to negotiate the first hurdle on the road to Wembley without trouble, to sail through into the draw with a performance to build on the win at Aston Villa.[LNB]There is no disputing Liverpool were horribly off colour 10 days ago against Reading, a pale shadow of the team that performed with such conviction and confidence in the Midlands.[LNB]From a personal viewpoint, though, Darby can look back on that game with great satisfaction; thrust into the limelight for the first time since making a costly slip against Fiorentina in the Champions League, his determination to atone was instantly evident. Spurred on by the encouragement he had received from Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and 'too many others to mention' in the days and weeks since, Darby was Liverpool's star man on January 2, embodying defiance in that 1-1 draw.[LNB]With Glen Johnson sidelined for at least another four weeks due to damaged medial ligaments, Benitez has a gap to fill on the right side of his defence and Darby - who led Liverpool to FA Youth Cup success in 2007 - is anxious to stake his claim.[LNB]Above all, however, Darby wants to show Benitez the faith he placed in him was not misplaced; the 22-year-old appreciates how other managers might have closed the door once and for all after such a costly error, and he will not let his second chance go without a fight.[LNB]'It was just so pleasing that the manager had the confidence to put me back in,' said Darby.
