It was an afternoon to forget for Southend United's Reserves, after they endured a 5-0 defeat at home to Watford.
A hat trick from Will Hoskins and a brace from Liam Henderson ultimately did the damage, with the Blues unable to contain their Championship opponents.
Henderson put Watford into the lead inside just three minutes, with a low shot from the edge of the box beating Kelvin Jack in the bottom corner of the net.
The same player then came close to doubling the visitors advantage when he saw another shot bounce back off the left-hand post, before Anthony Grant provided some respite when he arrowed a strike over the top.
Henderson continued to be the focal point of Watford's attack and he scored again in the 19th minute when he blasted the ball past Jack from 20 yards out.
A further four minutes later and Watford were celebrating again, with Hoskins released down the right wing and although Jack blocked his initial effort, the striker headed the rebound into an empty net.
The quick flurry of goals continued, with Hoskins scoring his second goal of the afternoon in the 29th minute, as he collected a throw-in, turned Johnny Herd and drilled the ball past Jack.
Scott Spencer did at least come close to pulling a goal back three minutes before the break when working his way into the box before rifling a shot that was tipped on the crossbar by goalkeeper Richard Lee.
The second half saw goals in short supply this time, even though Watford did go on to add a fifth in the 56th minute.
Hoskins was played through on goal and made no mistake to secure his hat trick with a low finish beating Jack.
Southend struggled to create up front in the second half, while at the other end, Jack raced out of his goal to block a strike from Gavin Massey, with the visitors continuing to threaten.
Henderson missed the chance to grab his own treble when heading over at the far post, as Watford ran out comfortable winners at Roots Hall.
Southend: Jack, Dennis, Sankofa, Osifuwa (Whittaker 75), Herd, Laurent (Milner 65), Grant (James-Lewis 46), Kerr, Okai, Spencer, Crawford.
