Chris Bennion

Chris Bennion (born 30 August 1980 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former football player. He is currently 1st team Goalkeeping coach with Bohemian Football Club.

Chris Bennion
Personal information
Full name Christopher Bennion
Date of birth (1980-08-30) 30 August 1980
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Edinburgh Celtic
Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Middlesbrough 1 (0)
2001–2002 → Scunthorpe United (loan) 0 (0)
2002–2002 Scunthorpe United 0 (0)
2002–2003 Shelbourne 8 (0)
2004–2009 Dundalk 174 (0)
2010 Athlone Town 18 (0)
2010–2011 St. Patrick's Athletic 4 (0)
2012 Monaghan United[1] 10 (0)
2012 Shelbourne 17 (0)
2013–2014 Longford Town 41 (0)
Total 272 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Chris Bennion is a goalkeeper. He began his career with Edinburgh Celtic as a youth and later joined the youth set up at Heart of Midlothian. In 1997, he joined English side Middlesbrough but made just one first team appearance and was loaned out to Scunthorpe United during his time at the Riverside Stadium. In 2002, he signed for League of Ireland side Shelbourne but was second choice keeper at Tolka Park. In 2004, he signed for Dundalk. He is a Scottish former schoolboys' international.

Middlesbrough

Bennion signed for Middlesbrough in 1997 and signed professional contract in 1999. However, he made just one first team appearance in September 2000 against Macclesfield Town in the first leg of the League Cup Second Round. Middlesbrough won the game 2–1 thanks to two late goals from Noel Whelan and Mark Summerbell at the Riverside Stadium. He was fourth choice keeper at the club behind Mark Schwarzer, Mark Crossley and Marlon Beresford. He was then loaned out to Scunthorpe United due to his lack of first team action.

Scunthorpe United

In September 2001, Bennion was loaned out to Scunthorpe United as cover for Tommy Evans. He did not make one single appearance for the Third Division side, however in March 2002 his loan deal from Middlesbrough was made permanent as he signed on a free transfer. Just one month later in April 2002, he left Glanford Park for League of Ireland side Shelbourne on a free transfer.

Shelbourne

In April 2002, Bennion joined Shelbourne in seek of more first team chances. For the remainder of the 2001–02 season, Bennion was deputy to Welsh keeper Steve Williams. He made just 10 league appearances for Pat Fenlon's side and won a League of Ireland medal in 2003. He was second choice keeper at Tolka Park and moved to Dundalk in 2004 as a result of little first team action.

Dundalk

Bennion signed for League of Ireland First Division side Dundalk in March 2004. He chose the Lillywhites ahead of Premier Division side Longford Town because he wanted regular first team action. He made his debut against Sligo Rovers in March 2004 at Oriel Park. Dundalk won the match 1–0 thanks to a Stephen Geoghegan goal. He played nearly every game during the 2004 season which was a poor season for the club. He was a key member of the Dundalk side who won the League of Ireland First Division in 2008. After spending six seasons with Dundalk and making over 170 appearances for the club Chris left Dundalk after being dislodged as first team keeper by his fellow country man Peter Cherrie.

Athlone Town

On 7 December he joined League of Ireland First Division side Athlone Town as captain in the pursuit of first team football.

St Patrick's Athletic

On 13 July 2010 Bennion signed for League of Ireland Premier Division side St. Patrick's Athletic.[2] His contract with Athlone Town was cancelled by mutual consent after he informed the club that terms were agreed between himself and Pete Mahon of St Patricks Athletic. Bennion made his St.Pat's début in a 1–0 loss to Dublin rivals Bohemians at Richmond Park, this turned out to be his only appearance of the 2010 season.

Monaghan United

On 20 December 2011 Bennion signed for Monaghan United as a replacement for Gabriel Sava. On 2 March he played his first competitive game in a nil all draw against his former club Dundalk. On 18 June 2012, the club announced their withdrawal from the League of Ireland and all of their playing staff were released by the club.[3]

Return to Shelbourne

On 6 July Bennion rejoined Dublin club Shelbourne.[4]

Longford Town

In December 2012 he joined League of Ireland First Division side Longford Town.

Bennion's competitive league debut came in a 5–0 win against Salthill Devon at the Drom in County Galway. The Scot conceded his first competitive goal a week later at home to Waterford United but his side recovered to a 2–1 win after Paudie Quinn's stunning oponer for the visitors who were Waterford United.

He was a member of the Longford squad which lifted the 2014 League of Ireland First Division title. Bennion decided to retire at the end off the season and take up a role in coaching . His final appearance saw him save a penalty in Longford's 2-0 victory away to Finn Harps on 12 October 2014.

Honours

Shelbourne

Dundalk

Longford Town

St Patrick's Athletic

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References
  1. All Monaghan United players' statistics for the 2012 season were expunged after Monaghan withdrew from the league mid-season.
  2. Chris Bennion signs for Saints → www.stpatsfc.com
  3. "Monaghan United withdraw from league". extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  4. Bennion signs for Shelbourne
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