Watford Under-18s have made it through to the semi-finals of the Youth Alliance Cup after a 2-0 victory over Southend Untied.

Chris Dillon scored in the first half for the Hornets and the victory was confirmed by a Bobson Bawling goal late on in the game.

The win has ensured Watford continue fighting on two fronts as they also remain top of the Youth Alliance South East Division.

Hughes told the Watford website: “The lads stuck to the task, and put right the wrongs of Northampton. On reflection we should probably have been more than 1-0 up at half-time. I counted 12 really good opportunities to get a second and really take the sting out of the game.

“That said, Southend had a real go in the second half and might feel they deserved something from the game based on their performance after half-time.

“I think the work rate and effort on show was part of the reason we got the fortune we did at 1-0. Overall I thought the boys fully deserved their win”