An injury-time penalty denied Southend United’s under 18 side a share of the spoils in their EFL Youth Alliance South East Conference clash at Cambridge United.

Danny Heath’s team twice led the game at Cambourne Village College through Henry Sandat’s early spot-kick and a thunderous finish by skipper Jacob Bland.

But the hosts fought back on each occasion before snatching a 3-2 win in additional time.

Blues named third-year scholar Jaden Crowhurst in the starting line-up to provide him with valuable minutes while, on the opposite side, schoolboy Louis Bragg continued to impress at left-back.

Max Fiddes was given a free role behind forwards Sandat and Kaan Sezgin.

And Fiddes was involved in the opening goal, which arrived just five minutes into the encounter after he had returned Sandat’s pass on the edge of the penalty area.

Sandat was then bundled over by a U’s defender and stepped up to convert the penalty himself.

The movement and positioning of Fiddes in particular was causing Cambridge concern, but Omari Williams overhit a right-wing cross and the home goalkeeper reacted quickly when Sezgin got the better of a defender to latch onto Romeo Ebondo’s lofted pass.

In between a Cambridge free-kick flew narrowly wide of the right-hand post, but that was a rare anxious moment for the Blues back-line as Southend continued to press from the front, helping the visitors to regain possession high up the pitch.

Leading the press was Sandat, who was full of energy and almost doubled the lead after a quarter of an hour as he seized on a misplaced pass before attempting an impudent lob that the Cambridge custodian did well to grab.

Blues were inconvenienced by an injury to central defender Habib Bolarinwa, necessitating the introduction of schoolboy trialist Thato Molefi, and the defence was still sorting itself out in the 34th minute when Cambridge equalised as a set-piece from the left-hand side took a touch at the near post and squirmed through Purcell’s grasp.

Heath made another change at half-time, introducing Ronnie Blake for Sezgin and pushing Fiddes further forward.

After the break, Blues regained the lead when a corner was cleared as far as Bland on the left-hand apex of the penalty area.

He took a touch before guiding an unstoppable fierce strike into the left-hand portion of the net.

Blues brought on Alfie Bangs for Ibrahim Kamara in midfield, but Cambridge responded well and, after Purcell had made a tumbling save to his left, the home side levelled for a second time in the 71st minute as their persistence saw them retain the ball and, despite the efforts of the Southend defence, the finish was slipped beyond Purcell.

Blues had a couple of chances, with Bragg setting up Fiddes for a half-volley into the goalkeeper’s gloves and Blake almost lobbing the shotstopper following good work by Sandat, but it was Cambridge who snatched the victory in stoppage time after Purcell had been adjudged to have brought down an attacker and he was subsequently sent the wrong way from the penalty spot.