Blues Youths had triumphed 3-0 on the south coast in the first game of the 2009/10 season, but the Seagulls had registered an identical scoreline in their own favour by half-time in this encounter and, despite an improved second half showing from the hosts, were able to extend their advantage still further after the break.
Boss Ricky Duncan named a strong starting line-up containing nine second-years as the decision day regarding the future for the club's older scholars nears. The only change to the eleven that had defeated Colchester 4-3 saw James Stevens replace John Owinja, with Jamie Dennis switching to right full-back.
The young Shrimpers' morning almost got off to worst possible start in just the second minute as Callum Whittaker sliced a right-wing cross towards his own goal. Gloveman Daniel Bentley got the faintest of touches to push the ball onto the underside of the crossbar and luckily it bounced out.
Brighton dominated play throughout the opening period, with a rare Southend break seeing Harry Crawford nod Dennis' cross into the goalkeeper's gloves on the quarter-of-an-hour mark.
Unfortunately, three minutes later United were behind as Whittaker was caught in possession on the edge of his own penalty area and forward George Barker swooped to coolly slot his shot underneath Bentley and into the net.
Shortly afterwards, Barker brought a decent save out of Bentley at his near post with a driven effort from an acute angle before the Seasiders began to feel their way back into the game. Stevens' free-kick was curled into the six-yard box where Crawford narrowly missed a headed connection that would have brought the scores level, and Dennis soon drilled Marcus Milner's cut-back across the face of goal.
However, Albion then hit Blues with a quickfire double two minutes either side of the half-hour. The visitors' second goal came at the end of a long period of build-up play with the Brighton right-back eventually attempting to centre the ball from the right bye-line. Bentley managed to push the cross out, but only to a centre-forward, who fired it straight back into the bottom right-hand corner.
There was barely time to recover from that blow when the third strike arrived. A free-kick was conceded forty yards out close to the left touchline which a midfielder stood over. An innocuous delivery was floated into the penalty area, where it was allowed to bounce before creeping inside the right-hand upright.
When Justin Hazell forced the Brighton goalkeeper into a magnificent fingertip save with a looping header from Dennis' cross on the stroke of half-time, it suggested that Southend still scented a comeback in the fixture, but that prospect was snuffed out within seven minutes of the restart.
United had changed to an adventurous 3-5-2 formation with George Smith replacing Stevens and Dennis assuming a role in the centre of midfield alongside the Republic of Ireland youth international. Both youngsters could only watch on as a Shrimpers corner found its way to Barker, who raced clear to leave the Seagulls with a three-man-to-one advantage. The striker waited until the best moment to square to his strike partner, who blasted past Bentley from ten yards out.
Another set-piece saw a Brighton midfielder flash his shot just past the post but, inspired by substitutes Smith and Julian Okai, Blues now started to force their way back into proceedings. The pair combined for Smith to control and smash inches off target from twelve yards before the midfielder put Kyle Asante through, only for a defender to divert his shot away from goal.
Okai and Smith then created an opportunity for a third replacement, Duane Ofon-Acheampong, but the tall front man had his effort deflected into the side-netting. The Shrimpers finally got onto the scoresheet in the 65th minute when Milner got around the back of the Brighton back-line and crossed just out of the reach of Ofon-Acheampong, although Asante was perfectly-placed to slot in behind the forward.
Disappointingly it took only three minutes for Albion to make it 5-1 as Barker was allowed to track across the edge of the penalty area before dispatching clinically past Bentley and in off of the base of the left-hand post.
The final twenty minutes saw a number of opportunities spurned by Southend, with Dennis' deflected volley - palmed away at full-stretch by the goalkeeper - and Ofon-Acheampong's daisy-cutter from Ade Osifuwa's pass representing the narrowest escapes for the away team. Having been outplayed in this fixture, Blues will be hoping to bounce straight back when Barnet visit Boots & Laces this Saturday.
Southend United: Daniel Bentley; Jamie Dennis, Callum Whittaker, Duran Reynolds, Adetayo Osifuwa; Marcus Milner, James Stevens (George Smith 46), Merrick James-Lewis (Julian Okai 53), Justin Hazell; Kyle Asante, Harry Crawford (Duane Ofon-Acheampong 58).
Substitutes not used: Alex Woodward and Akim Abiola-Daramola.
Goal: Asante (65).
Cautioned: Dennis (90 - foul tackle).
Thanks to the Shrimpers Trust website for the reprinting of these reports, for the Trust's own youth section, go here:
www.shrimperstrust.co.uk/home.asp?page_id=10