Chris Bennion

Chris Bennion

Personal information
Full name	Christopher Bennion
Date of birth	30 August 1980 (1980-08-30) (age 31)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	St. Patrick's Athletic
Number	20
Youth career
	Edinburgh Celtic
–	Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999-2002	Middlesbrough	0	(0)
2001-2002	→ Scunthorpe United (loan)	0	(0)
2002-2002	Scunthorpe United	0	(0)
2002-2004	Shelbourne	10	(0)
2004-2009	Dundalk	174	(0)
2010	Athlone Town	18	(0)
2010-	St. Patrick's Athletic	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Chris Bennion (born 30 August 1980 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player who currently plays with St. Patrick's Athletic .

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 1999 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 former Scottish schoolboys' international.

Middlesbrough

Bennion signed for Middlesbrough in 1999. However, he made just one first team appearance in September 2000 against Macclesfield Town in the first leg of the Worthington 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 is now in his sixth season with Dundalk and seems to have finally settled down in Ireland due to the fact he is a regular in the Dundalk side. He has played under three different managers at Oriel Park, Trevor Anderson, Jim Gannon and John Gill. He was a key member of the Dundalk side who won the League of Ireland First Division in 2008. Sean Connor, the new Dundalk manager, stated that Bennion will remain Dundalk's number one choice in goal despite the fact that the majority of the 2008 First Division winning squad were released. 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

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

St Patrick's Athletic

On July 7, 2010 Bennion signed for League of Ireland Premier Division side St. Patrick's Athletic.^[1] 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.

Honours

• League of Ireland: 1
  • Shelbourne - 2003

• League of Ireland First Division: 1
  • Dundalk - 2008

References

1. ^ Chris Bennion signs for Saints → www.stpatsfc.com

External links

• Chris Bennion career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Bennion, Chris
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 August 1980
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death
Place of death