Ogo Obi took his tally to ten goals in his last four appearances as Watford Under-18s extended their unbeaten run to three games with an emphatic 7-2 victory over Southend United.

Fresh from scoring a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Stevenage the previous weekend, Obi went one better as Michael Folivi also scored three times in the Youth Alliance win at London Colney on Saturday.

The two players combined to give the young Hornets the lead in the tenth minute when Folivi flicked the ball over the defence and Obi, who was on trial at Manchester United in the summer before signing a deal at Vicarage Road, nipped in to tuck the ball under the Shrimpers goalkeeper.

Persistence and pressure led to the home side’s second as Southend were forced into a mistake and Folivi latched onto a poor pass to race clear and finish well.

Two soon became three as Obi met a Folivi corner with a near-post finish, before Watford goalkeeper Nathan Gartside was tested for the first time, dealing well with a firmly-struck effort from the edge of the penalty area.

The Shrimpers contributed to their own downfall shortly before the interval when a misplaced back pass had their keeper in trouble, he was then wrong-footed as the ball rebounded off the post and Obi accepted the invitation to complete a first-half hat-trick.

There was no let up after the break as the hosts scored their fifth when some fine play by Mahlondo Martin on the left flank ended with him and cutting inside and squaring for Folivi to net his second.

Southend did manage to pull one back soon after when a loose ball was cracked past Gartside, before the Hornets keeper found Martin, who travelled half the length of the pitch on the left unopposed and crossed for Obi to volley into the bottom corner and make it 6-1.

A second Shrimpers consolation goal arrived with 15 minutes remaining as their striker got free to poke the ball home after a long ball was knocked towards a crowded penalty area.

But Watford finished the second half as they ended their first by scoring again; Folivi converting a penalty after an opponent had been sent off for deliberate handball after the Hornets striker had tried to flick the ball beyond the last defender.

Watford Under-18s: Gartside; Young, Hall, Rowan, Martin; Stewart, Makaka (Cook 69), Lewis, Folivi, Pereira (Otudeko 63); Obi.