Barking's 130th anniversary will niot be celebrated with the Essex Senior Cup
It might be a big year in the history of Barking Football Club, they are older than the Shrimpers by a couple of decades, but they will not be able to boast the county's premier cup competition this season at least as the home side progressed easily in the end, but not before the East Londoners gave them an early shock.
And it took two late goals from Harry Crawford in as many minutes at the end to give the scoreline a healthier look than player/coach Graham Coughlan would have liked a the game entered it's final stages.
The promising Kane Ferdinand made a rare error in the 10th minute, guiding a back header not to home keeper Daniel Bentley but Barking winger Ben Jones, who said thanks very much.
Southend went straight up the other end and the returning Sofiene Zaaboub's shot was not held by Barking keeper Chris Clark and Matt Paterson just missed with the rebound.
This was followed up by Scott Spencer finding the post from Zaaboub's corner, and Clark this time saving well from both Crawford and the far busier Zaaboub than we've seen recently.
Crawford then found the post again for the home side and Paterson shot wide, all this in the first half-hour, Barking were hanging on!
And the Shrimpers found the woodwork for a third time, Luke Prosser, skipper for the night, found the bar after Ferdinand's free-kick five minutes before the break.
So it looked as it would be a frustrating first 45 for United until Ferdinand apologised for his earlier error the best way possible, grabbing the equaliser on 41 minutes, the youngster striking hard past Clark after good play from Jamie Stevens.
There just seemed one way now for the second half to go and it certainly started that way when Luke Prosser headed home from a Jamie Stephens corner in the 50th minute.
That should cheer the former Port Vale man up!
However, even though it continued to be one-way traffic, Coughlan's men could not find another goal and at 2-1 Barking were always in the tie.
So it was up to everybody's favourite teenage Irishman to finally finish the Essex Senior League side off with his coup de theatre in the final two minutes with a brace of headers.
Some nice play on the left by Zaaboub and a cross to match found Harry Crawford lurking with intent 8-yards out and he didn't need to be asked twice to find the net with a neat header.
Crawford followed this up almost immediately with another on his head and making it a deserved four after sub Julian Okai's terrific strike was saved well by Clark but only finding Hicham Abdellah whose accurate cross found Harry.
Look, in the present doom and gloom, a win's a win, even against a team one hundered plus places below us in the league ladder.
Sad, but true, last season we lost at this stage!
Southend United: Bentley, Furlonge, Stevens (Smith 75), Prosser, Herd, Spencer (Okai 85), Woodyard, Paterson, Crawford, Zaaboub (Abdellah 90).
Subs not used: Nesbitt, Ofri-Acheampong.
Barking: Clark, Doyle, Mackin (King 88), Greenwood, Dennis, Walker, Butler (Offie 74), Walsh, Steadman, (Gallen 55), Pyne, Jones.
Subs not used: Tungate, Kane.
Essex Senior Cup Dates
Round Four (by December 4th 2011)
Quarter-Finals (by January 8th 2011)
Semi-Finals (by February 5th 2011)
Final (Dates and Venue TBC)