Two goals from Gary Hooper and another from Charlie MacDonald gave the Shrimpers ' second string a 3-1 win.

It wasn't to be the U's reserves' sixth draw in six games as Southend United took all the points with the victory at a wet Layer Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Kevin McLeod got the U's back in the game, making it 2-1, but the Shrimpers scored their third before half time. The second half was a quieter affair and the U's couldn't get back in the game after conceding those first half goals.

Joe Dunne had a much stronger side than the one that faced Stanway Rovers, with the likes of Adam Virgo, Jamie Guy and Kevin McLeod in the starting eleven.

The visitors also had a strong team out with Gary Hooper, Charlie McDonald and Garry Richards all having performed in Steve Tilson's League One side this season.

The game started slowly with both sides getting used to the conditions and it wasn't until the twelfth minute that anyone mustered a shot at goal, with young Josh Oakley making the visiting keeper concede a corner. It was from the corner that the opening goal came but it wasn't at the end the corner was taken from.

Southend cleared their box from the set piece and a long ball forward found Gary Hooper bearing down on goal. Mark Cousins raced from his goal but Hooper clipped his shot past him and into the back of the net to open the scoring.

Five minutes later, after Hooper had once again gone close, the visitors went further ahead through former U's loanee Charlie MacDonald. He controlled a ball into his feet, turned and lifted the ball into the top corner.

The U's quickly reacted to this second goal and Kevin McLeod scored the best goal of the game to bring the U's back into it in the twenty second minute. A ball from Tom Webb was intercepted by a defender but his back pass was far too short and McLeod was onto it like a shot and chipped the keeper from twenty five yards out.

This stung the visitors into action again though and regained their two goal cushion just two minutes later as Hooper once again ran onto a through ball down the middle of the pitch. He was calm as Cousins came out and scored with his right foot effort to make it 3-1.

Conceded another goal had certainly woken the U's up and they had their best spell of the game but couldn't score before the half time break. Jamie Guy had a couple of efforts and defender George Elokobi's run into the box ended with a shot over the visitors' crossbar.

Southend had the better of the early exchanges in the second period, with MacDonald shooting over and then Mark Cousins looking anxious as a long range shot whistled over the bar. Tom Webb had a weak shot saved in the fifty first minute but Cousins then had to smother the ball on the edge of his penalty area before MacDonald could pounce.

On the hour mark, Anthony Wordsworth was replaced by Nathan Speed and it was a good hour's work for the youngster with this being his first game since undergoing groin surgery.

Kevin McLeod was probing down the left hand side for the U's but no-one could get on the end of a couple of great low crosses and John White was thwarted by the keeper's block as he tried his luck from the edge of the box.

McLeod had a couple of half chances in the closing stages but couldn't force another goal as first, his shot was saved by the keeper and then his cross, when maybe he could have shot himself, was cut out before it could reach one of his teammates making the box.

The last action of the game saw Jamie Guy twist and turn the Southend defender before drilling his shot just wide of the far post. Seconds later, the referee blew for full time and the U's second string suffered their first defeat of the season.

U's: Cousins, White, Virgo, Devaux, Elokobi, Oakley, Guttridge, Wordsworth (Speed), McLeod, Webb (Nelson), Guy