Watford win latest U21s clash.
Colchester United U21s were beaten 3-1 by their Watford equivalents on Monday afternoon.
The game, which was played behind closed doors, saw the U's first chance come from triallist Femi Akinwande, as he collected a loose ball and advanced towards the box, but fired high and wide of the Watford goal in the 13th minute.
Twelve minutes later, the home team then created an opportunity for themselves after an impressive sprint from Ibarbo and clever touch inside to Jakubiak who was stopped by a superb save from the U's keeper Dillon Barnes.
The 29th minute saw the visitors concede their first goal.
Jakubiak scored with an assist from Smith and, just ten minutes later, the Hornets got another thanks to the impressive Ibarbo finding the far corner.
Jakubiak scored with an assist from Smith and, just ten minutes later, the Hornets got another thanks to the impressive Ibarbo finding the far corner.
The second half hadn't long been underway when Kieran Bailey gave the young U's squad hope with a close-range goal in the 48th minute.
Just nine minutes later, however, Ibarbo scored his second goal of the game, with Barnes just getting a touch of the ball as it was sent into the right hand corner.
Lawrence found the side-netting in the 85th minute with a 25-yard free-kick which curled over the Watford defence wall.
And the final five minutes of the game featured a series of good saves from Watford keeper Gartside as Colchester relentlessly put pressure on the hosts.
The final effort came from Akinwande's shot coming from a Colchester corner which Gartside tipped over the bar.
Despite the defeat, the U's late efforts will give them hope as they prepare for their next match, at home to Brentford next Monday.
Despite the defeat, the U's late efforts will give them hope as they prepare for their next match, at home to Brentford next Monday.