A Watford Under-23 side featuring five players with first-team experience was humbled 4-3 by Colchester at London Colney this afternoon.

Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ben Watson, Christian Kabasele, Costel Pantilimon and Adrian Mariappa all started in an experienced Hornets team, alongside Jerome Sinclair, who is yet to make his first-team debut.

The visitors, in contrast, had played barely three League Two matches' worth of league football this season between them.

But despite trailing twice to their hosts, they turned the game on its head to seal a late win.

Watford had led 2-0 through Connor Stevens and Carl Stewart, before the U's restored parity with goals either side of half-time.

They regained their advantage from Michael Folivi's effort, but threw the game away late on as two goals in three minutes, from Frankie Kent and George Brown, earned the visitors all three points.

Walter Mazzarri was in attendance to cast an eye over the players lent to Harry Kewell's side and would have been pleased with their early endeavour, as Sinclair twice went close to opening the scoring.

With a quarter of the game gone they did take the lead, when Kabasele's header found Stevens, who volleyed home.

Within 10 minutes the Hornets were 2-0 up and cruising following nice build-up from Folivi, who crossed for Sinclair to head into the path of Stewart's grateful boot.

Or so it seemed. Mariappa's lunge on Macauley Bonne gave the U's a chance to get back into the game from the spot five minutes before half-time, and after the visiting forward had got back to his feet, he duly obliged.

After the break, Sinclair was thwarted by James Bransgrove's save as he looked to restore the Hornets' two-goal advantage, before Louis Dunne cancelled it altogether with a first-time finish for Colchester.

The U's joy seemed to be shortlived as Folivi's shot rebounded off a post before crossing the line off Bromsgrove's back to put Watford back in front, but the visitors soon fired back with another equaliser with 18 minutes to go, through Kent's header from a Charley Edge free-kick.

Another quality Edge delivery found Kent again three minutes later, and his flick-on to Brown was well finished to give the visitors a shock lead.

Subsitute Ogo Obi looked to have Watford back level in the dying minutes from Watson's free-kick, but he was ruled offside.

Andrew Eleftheriou was the last to go close for the hosts in injury time, but his header from a Watson corner went just wide as Colchester hung on.

The result leaves the Hornets without a win in their last six Under-23 games, having conceded 21 goals over that period.