Stevens' last brace came when the Shrimpers overcame Brentford 3-0 in the Second Round of the FA Youth Cup on 22nd November but, as the midfielder took his personal goal tally to five goals in three games, Ricky Duncan's side showed few signs of any cobwebs in their system after a near-seven week lay-off.
There were four changes to the team that had taken to the field that day with goalkeeper Daniel Bentley missing out with a slight injury and Lyle Della-Verde given a berth on the substitutes' bench. Luke Chambers and fit-again winger Hicham Abdellah replaced that pair, whilst Ryan Auger and Michael Hyland stepped in for Kane Ferdinand and Alex Woodyard, who were part of the first-team squad for their League Two fixture against Chesterfield.
Blues could have moved in front after just five minutes when Julian Okai was the recipient of the ball on the left-hand side after both Stevens and George Smith had been involved in moving it into the flanker's path from Auger's throw on the right. Okai was well-positioned ten yards from goal, but he flashed narrowly over the crossbar.
It took just four further minutes for Southend to score after another excellent move. Smith and Ofori-Acheampong exchanged a one-two on the edge of the penalty area before the former set Okai away again. This time the second-year scholar crossed and, when Ofori-Acheampong was bundled over, the referee pointed to the spot. The Shots goalkeeper guessed correctly, but Stevens' spot-kick was driven precisely into the corner of the net and left him no chance of a save.
Smith was at the heart of a number of intricate moves and, after some trickery on the right-hand side of the penalty area, he almost set up a second for Stevens but the stand-in skipper was just unable to get a touch to the ball at the far post.
At the other end, Chambers was fortunate not to concede when his misplaced throw was seized upon by Mo Davies. The forward advanced on goal, but former Arsenal custodian Chambers made an excellent save to push the shot against the base of the left-hand upright before collecting the rebound.
That was a rare moment of anxiety for the hosts, however, and Abdellah soon saw his cross-shot bounce on the top of the crossbar before Smith threaded the winger through again on the right, only for the ex-Football's Next Star talent to slice his effort past the right-hand post.
With three minutes of the first period remaining, Blues took a stranglehold on the fixture with a goal of real quality. Hyland won the ball with a typically robust challenge in midfield, and that allowed Smith and Okai to exchange a series of quickfire passes. Okai then committed the 'keeper into closing him down before squaring to Ofori-Acheampong, who tapped home to round off a beautiful move.
The tall centre-forward could have netted his team's third on the stroke of half-time, but his follow-up after the goalkeeper had pushed out Abdellah's curling effort shaved the left-hand upright and the Shrimpers had to settle for a 2-0 scoreline at the break.
With the wind in their favour in the second half, Aldershot attempted to hit back, and they duly reduced the arrears in the 59th minute. A fine passing move on the right-hand side saw a midfielder get to the byeline and, from an almost impossible angle, he managed to squeeze the ball between Chambers and his near post.
That served as a wake-up call for Southend who, up until that point, had looked relatively comfortable. The introduction of Della-Verde on the left gave the Shots defence something new to think about, and his first touch of consequence saw the 'keeper spill his cross before recovering to clear ahead of Ofori-Acheampong.
There was to be no such reprieve on 73 minutes. Teddy Nesbitt drove forward from left-back before drawing a defender out and passing to Della-Verde. The 15-year-old centred the ball in a flash, picking out the onrushing Stevens, who had no problem in sweeping the ball underneath the 'keeper and into the net.
Davies curled a free-kick inches wide in stoppage time for the visitors, but Southend largely closed out an impressive display with few concerns as centre-halves Louis Baucutt and Anthony Furlonge gave solid performances at the back, leaving their manager to reflect: "It was good to get back on the pitch today, and I thought we played very well against a good passing side. The second goal was a really excellent move, but it was important that we started the year well ahead of the FA Youth Cup tie against Coventry City."
Duncan also confirmed that the squad have no injury concerns ahead of Wednesday's 7:30pm kick-off at Roots Hall, with Blues' Youths attempting to set up a Fourth Round tie at Derby County with a victory over the Sky Blues. Admission is £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
Southend United: Luke Chambers, Ryan Auger, Teddy Nesbitt, James Stevens, Louis Baucutt, Anthony Furlonge, Hicham Abdellah (Lyle Della-Verde 65), Michael Hyland, Duane Ofori-Acheampong (Rhys Mackay 82), George Smith, Julian Okai (Fope Coker 79).
Substitute not used: Jack Paxman.
Goals: Stevens (9 pen, 74), Ofori-Acheampong (42).
League