AGUSTIN DELGADO scored his first Saints goal last night - but saw his team crash out of the Worthington Cup to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield.

The £3.2m striker cooly levelled early in the second-half before goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Milan Baros took Liverpool into the fourth round.

Delgado was drafted in for his first-ever start against Premiership opposition in almost a year as Gordon Strachan rested Brett Ormerod.

And the Ecuadorian, pictured, clearly impressed the Saints boss.

Strachan said: "Delgado did well. He has had all sorts of horrendous injuries and he has had problems with the culture and the Ecuadorian FA, but he gives us a new dimension.

"He has had four or five attempts at goal tonight and he certainly has an eye for goal."

Strachan felt his team controlled much of thetie and was furious that Liverpool regained the lead just one minute after Delgado had equalised a Patrik Berger free-kick that was unluckily deflected in off Michael Svensson.

He said: "We had a plan at how to play them. It worked better this time and we did a lot right.

"The free-kick was their first shot, I don't think the goalkeeper had had a save to make and the free-kick wasn't even a very good shot.

"At half-time I said we will get back into this and we did. I felt we could win the game, it was crazy to be losing.

"But tonight, when we wake up at 2am, 4am or 7am, we will think about their second goal.

"That period after we had scored was crucial and one minute later we had conceded.

"It will be horrible to wake up with regrets and that second goal really affected us.

"The third was a knock-on effect from the second. There was the embarrassment factor."

He added: "It was a disappointing night after we had played so well - we could have been in the next round as the plan had worked spot on."

Strachan was also full of praise for young Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, who made a string of outstanding saves.

He said: "Their goalkeeper did very well over 90 minutes, he was their man of the match.

"Other players came into the game later after they had scored who I didn't realise were on the pitch, but he was there the whole way through.

"Chris Kirkland was with me at Coventry and I remember him when he was a big Bamby and couldn't kick the ball out of the box.

"He will be the future England 'keeper, there is nobody better than him."