SOUTHEND United's under 18 side claimed their third consecutive victory with a 4-1 triumph over Lowestoft Town in National League U19 Alliance Division A on Wednesday afternoon.

Blues backed up their 6-3 win over West Ham United Foundation in the first league game of the season with another superb display against the Trawlerboys, with Sisanda Maguranyanga contributing his second Garon Park hat-trick of the campaign and Nikolay Zlatev also finding the target during a mesmerising first half.

“We were absolutely outstanding in the first half,” declared coach Tom Bailey.

“We set a target to be very fast with our tempo in the first 15 minutes, even if we couldn’t find the goal during that time, to put them on the back foot straight away.

"We wanted to let them know they were in a battle.”

“We were 2-0 up after 20 minutes and that’s where we won the game because they didn’t recover from that until half-time, and by that time we’d added another two goals and the game was done.

"To go in 4-0 up at half-time was very pleasing and it shows how good our first half was.”

The teenage Shrimpers would take the lead after just nine minutes with another move down the right as Zlatev threaded a pass into the path of Maguranyanga and he was tripped by Ben Atkinson as the defender stretched for the ball in the penalty area.

The former Hamilton Academical youngster stroked the resultant spot-kick confidently into the net.

Three minutes later it could have been 2-0 as James Datey was brought down in midfield and Brandon Dadson floated a free-kick to the far post, where skipper Alfie Humphrey rose unmarked but glanced his header narrowly wide of the right-hand upright.

Undeterred, Blues did double their advantage after 20 minutes at the end of an excellent move. Dadson again delivered the ball to the far post, where Zlatev and Humphrey combined to set up Maguranyanga, who fired a rising shot into the roof of the net from the right-hand apex of the six-yard box.

Southend were not done there, and they added a third goal midway through the first half when Maguranyanga turned provider with an inch-perfect pass to release Zlatev. The forward rounded goalkeeper Jack Trowbridge and slotted the ball gleefully into an empty net to make it 3-0.

Blues were in total control, typified by a Zlatev cut-back to the edge of the penalty area after half-an-hour that had three players waiting for the chance to convert, with Munro angling his finish narrowly wide.

Munro was also denied in the 33rd minute when he reached an Oscar Miller cross first but Trowbridge did well to save at the near post.

Humphrey smashed over from 25 yards and Dadson dragged an effort inches wide of the left-hand upright from a similar distance before Maguranyanga completed his hat-trick at the end of a sublime 41st-minute move down the left.

Miller found Dadson and the first-year picking out the run of Zlatev, who reached the goal-line before cutting back for a six-yard finish.

When Coby Lee had threatened for the visitors in the 13th minute, he found Prince Chinedum had read his run to execute a superb tackle, and the only other opportunity for Lowestoft arrived three minutes before half-time when Luca Sorrentino turned Ashton Blogg’s free-kick against the crossbar.

Dadson picked up an injury and was replaced at the interval by Riley Sykes, but Blues were relentless and Humphrey found Zlatev in the 49th minute, only for the forward’s close-range finish to be smothered by Trowbridge.

Four minutes later, Humphrey initiated a move before stepping over Zlatev’s cut-back to allow Maguranyanga to shoot, but Trowbridge saved superbly.

Sorae also saw an effort deflected wide, but Southend’s intensity dropped when the fifth goal didn’t instantly arrive, and Sorrentino made a smart near-post stop to deny Freddie Simmons at the other end before grasping another Blogg set-piece on 71 minutes.

However, the hosts frustratingly missed out on a clean sheet with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining when Lowestoft broke away from a Blues corner and substitute Corbyn Dixon did well to gently lift his finish over the advancing Sorrentino.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Atkinson nodded a right-wing cross into the gloves of Sorrentino, but Southend saw out stoppage time with no further damage to register a 4-1 win and climb to second place in the fledgling league table.

Southend United U18s: Luca Sorrentino, Ronnie Durussel, Oscar Miller, Alfie Humphrey, Prince Chinedum, James Datey (Samuel Gordon 63), Yobor Sorae, Kye Munro (George Riches 73), Nikolay Zlatev, Brandon Dadson (Riley Sykes, 46), Sisanda Maguranyanga (Innocent Duru 72).