Leyton Orient U18's 3 Southend United U18's 3
Report by Robert Craven
Photos by Graham Bridgeman-Clarke

Duane Ofon-Acheampong's second-half brace ensured that Southend United's Under-18s claimed a share of the spoils after a 3-3 draw at Leyton Orient.

The beanpole centre-forward came off of the bench to head home twice inside the final 25 minutes after Louis Crowther's hat-trick had helped the hosts to take a 3-1 lead, although the goal of the game arrived from the sweet left boot of Southend's Harry Crawford.

With Ricky Duncan arriving just in time for kick-off after a trip to Germany, Luke Hobbs named a team which differed in the presence of John Owinja, George Smith and Adetayo Osifuwa from the one that lost 3-1 at Millwall in the FA Youth Cup. Kyle Asante and Julian Okai again linked up with the first-team squad, with forward Asante making his debut as a late substitute in the FA Cup First Round match at Gillingham.

Tuesday's fixture at the New Den had seen Blues make the worst possible start but this time goalkeeper Daniel Bentley was down smartly to parry out at his near post after just three minutes to deny Crowther. At the other end, Crawford rode a challenge before the ball dropped for Jamie Dennis to slice wildly off-target.

There were 12 minutes on the clock when Orient took the lead after Callum Whittaker - included in previous senior squads - sliced his clearance into the path of Moses Odubajo. If Blues had been culpable in conceding possession, there was no doubting the skill involved in the goal itself as Odubajo found Jake Argent and the forward set up strike partner Crowther for a drilled finish into the bottom left-hand corner.

Both teams were intent on battling hard for the loose ball although at times the visitors' play was a little lethargic. However, that threatened to change after 23 minutes as Crawford connected beautifully with Dennis' cushioned flick and volleyed into the top right-hand corner from 30 yards to bring Blues level. Even the fingertips of 'keeper Dan Bygrave could not prevent the wonder-strike from connecting with the net.

Bygrave was equal to the next Crawford drive shortly after the half-hour mark as the front man raced onto Merrick James-Lewis' header but Orient remained the more likely side to score with Teddy Nesbitt, employed in an unfamiliar left-wing role, charging down a Michael Richardson half-volley.

Crowther did make it 2-1 six minutes before half-time with another wonderfully-crafted goal. This time Sam Konway delivered the ball down the right flank, with the striker holding off the attentions of Duran Reynolds before spinning and hooking his shot over Bentley and inside the far post.

Tempers began to fray during five minutes of stoppage time awarded after Richardson was carried off injured and James-Lewis and Crowther were both cautioned after an unseemly interchange.

Five minutes into the second period the O's added to their advantage with the assistance of a fortunate ricochet. Reynolds appeared set to smash the ball to safety but his clearance instead cannoned into the back of Argent and fell kindly for Crowther, who gratefully accepted the present to stoke home his third of the day.

Southend introduced James Stevens and Ofon-Acheampong in a bid to regain a foothold in the game, and within two minutes of coming off of the bench the latter had made it 3-2. Dennis' right-wing corner was contested by both Ofon-Acheampong and Whittaker, with the front man rising highest to force the ball over the line.

He quickly had a chance to level when Crawford nodded Bentley's long goal-kick into his path but he poked just past the upright. However, with ten minutes remaining, Ofon-Acheampong made no mistake with a close-range header to equalise after Crawford had delivered a precise centre.

Bentley made a fine save to block from Argent at close range but Blues' Youths still appeared to have the momentum until Osifuwa was dismissed for a mistimed challenge four minutes from the end. Despite a couple of scrambled clearances during another five minutes of added time, Southend hung on to pick up a point in the defence of their Youth Alliance League title ahead of next weekend's clash against Colchester United.

Southend United: Daniel Bentley; John Owinja, Callum Whittaker, Duran Reynolds, Adetayo Osifuwa; Marcus Milner (Duane Ofon-Acheampong 64), Merrick James-Lewis, Jamie Dennis, Teddy Nesbitt; George Smith (James Stevens 57); Harry Crawford.

Substitutes not used: Alex Woodyard, Kane Ferdinand.