Leyton Orient faced Brighton & Hove Albions under-23s in their final Checkatrade Trophy group stage match and lost 1-0 at the Amex Stadium.

Richie Towell scored the only goal of the game after an unfortunate series of events sent his side through to the knockout stages.

Orient’s under-18s defended well and showed some style with Sandro Semedo and Callum Kennedy also impressing.

O’s boss Alberto Cavasin will have to think if he should give any of the youngsters, who remain unbeaten, a start on Saturday as they face Colchester in a League Two fixture.

Brighton started the livelier of the two sides as Dessie Hutchinson looked to get a cross in from the right but Aron Pollock got back well to stop the impending cross.

A minute later, Jay Simpson found some space and past out wide to Semedo but his shot is saved well by Casper Ankergren.

Paul McCallum then had a go for goal after Zan Benedicic crossed the ball in but the ball went out for a corner which came to nothing.

But it was the Seagulls who opened the scoring in what was an unfortunate sequence for the O’s as Pollock got back well to stop the ball going into the back of the net on the line from Elvis Manu after Benedicic lost the ball outside the box.

The defender subsequently smacked his own leg off the post and Towell was the man who stepped up for the rebound into the top corner.

Benedicic seemed to the man causing all the problems for the O’s as he continued to lose the ball inside his own half.

Will Collar should have made it 2-0 after Solly March played the ball into him but he dragged his effort wide of the post.

And Semedo once again showed his speed down the wing as the took a shot to try and find the equaliser but Tyler Hornby-Forbes got his body in the way and the corner came to nothing.

Kennedy and Semedo were playing some lovely football down the left wing but they could not capitalise on their good work.

Victor Adeboyejo came on for Simpson in the second half and with the youthful presence in the side they looked a slightly different team from their 6-0 defeat at the hands of Sheffield United on Sunday.

Jens Janse had to be replaced after he dislocated his shoulder and the young full-back Myles Judd came on to replace him.

The youngsters gave the O’s some much needed energy as they pushed for the equaliser but Brighton defended well to ensure they remained ahead.

Ankergren almost gifted a goal to the O’s after he fumbled the ball inside his own box from a corner but no one could get onto the end of it and the keeper collected the ball.

And quickly down the other end Rob Hunt played inside to Kazenga Lualua who fired at goal but Cisak gathered the tame shot.

Josh Koroma, after some slick footballing skills, found some space in the box and hit a low shot towards goal but Ankergren grabbed it after spilling the ball to his right.

Orient should have equalised in the dying minutes of the game after Adeboyejo and Koroma combined well inside the six-yard box with Ankergren well beat the former could only shoot wide of the post.

The score line ended the same as the first half and Cavasin fell to his sixth defeat in seven.

Orient starting XI: Cisak, Kennedy, Dunne, Collins, McCallum, Semedo, Pollock, Simpson, Koroma, Benedicic, Janse