MAX Fiddes netted twice as Southend United's under 18 side returned to EFL Youth Alliance South East Conference action with a 3-2 home defeat against Milton Keynes Dons.

Blues have only played one league game since defeating MK Dons by the same scoreline in the Second Round of the FA Youth Cup at Roots Hall in November.

But, despite that Fiddes brace, they were beaten in their first match of 2023 as Edwin Daffern scored twice himself for the visitors and Joshua Adepoju converted a penalty.

Midfielder Ronnie Blake was handed his first start after missing nine months through injury, whilst schoolboy Louis Bragg was named in defence. Fiddes was once again partnered by Kaan Sezgin up front.

Blues made a bright start and Sezgin was inches away from converting a left-wing Mitch Fallows cross straight from the kick-off, although the visitors crafted an early opening of their own when Callum Tripp got free of his marker to send a shot over on the half-volley from eight yards out following a corner.

Danny Heath’s side were keeping possession well, but their play lacked a crucial finishing touch, whether that was Sezgin finding himself unable to latch onto a raking Romeo Ebondo pass or Ibrahim Kamara locating the side-netting with a right-wing cross.

At the other end, when Daffern was found in space six yards from goal, he forced a point-blank save from Fin Purcell in the tenth minute.

Six minutes later, Daffern would make no mistake with his finish from slightly further out.

Blues invited pressure on themselves with a square throw in their own territory, and when MK turned over the ball, Daffern sent a rising strike into the roof of the net from ten yards out.

Southend attempted to hit back immediately, but Sezgin failed to collect a Fiddes pass and centre-back Habib Bolarinwa was unable to turn goalwards when he was picked out at the far post from a Blake delivery.

In between, Alfie Bangs saw a fierce effort from 30 yards out charged down by the MK defence.

Purcell was called upon to deny Tripp with another fine stop, but Blues equalised on 25 minutes with an excellent set-piece routine.

Ebondo moved around in the penalty area to cause confusion as Kamara delivered an outswinging corner and Fiddes took advantage by forcing home from close-range.

With the scores level, the two teams traded chances as they sought to end the first half in the ascendancy.

At either end Alfie Bangs and Corvell Pickering saw centres narrowly elude onrushing forwards before Bangs curled into the side-netting following good work by Fiddes.

Blues received a let-off when Phoenix Scholtz was unable to convert Kyle Boyce’s swinging delivery but, after Blake had fired over from another Kamara corner, MK goalkeeper Seb Stacey was called into action, first to palm away a long-range Fiddes free-kick and then to turn Ebondo’s follow-up around the left-hand upright.

The sides could not be separated at the interval, although the opening quarter-of-an-hour of the second half would prove to be pivotal.

Things started well for Blues, with Sezgin firing over from 25 yards out after industrious play by Blake and Jacob Bland, who was captaining the team in the absence of Patrick Droney and Mo Amir.

However, matters took a turn for the worst on 52 minutes when Tripp found Pickering on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and Ebondo was adjudged to have brought down the midfielder.

Adepoju stepped up to take the spot-kick and Purcell guessed correctly, but the ball squirmed through his grasp and into the net.

MK threw themselves at Blues, with Purcell thwarting Isaac Olaleye and Pickering firing against the outside of the left-hand post in the ensuing moments.

On the hour mark the pressure told as Tripp passed to Daffern in the penalty area and he calmly side-footed into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 3-1.

Omari Williams was immediately sent on in place of Bangs and, after Bolarinwa made a crucial challenge to dispossess Olaleye, Williams fired into the side-netting from a Fiddes pass.

On 71 minutes schoolboy Piers Hatcliff replaced Sezgin, and he had an immediate impact on proceedings.

The attacker was surrounded by four MK defenders as he entered the penalty area with 15 minutes remaining in the clash, and he was tripped as he sought to engineer some space.

Forward Fiddes took responsibility for the spot-kick, and he coolly stroked home following a lengthy delay.

Within seconds Blues had won the ball back from the restart and Stacey made an outstanding point-blank save to thwart Kamara as he arrived at the far post to meet a hanging Williams cross.

That was as close as Southend would come to a leveller as a succession of crosses were dealt with by the visiting defence and Fallows fired wide with a speculative 30-yard effort.

Next week Heath’s charges travel to Northampton Town.

Southend United U18s: Purcell, Bragg, Fallows, Bland, Ebondo, Bolarinwa, Kamara (Poxon 82), Blake (MacDonald 82), Sezgin (Hatcliff 71), Fiddes, Bangs (Williams 62).