Chris Bennion (born: 30 August 1980) is a Scottish goalkeeper who started out with his local club, Edinburgh Celtic, before progressing on to another club in the Scottish capital, Heart of Midlothian. Having been spotted by Middlesbrough scouts in his time with Celtic, Chris got his first big break when the Riverside outfit signed the former Scottish schoolboys international in 1996. However, with Bennion fourth choice keeper, having failed to move above Mark Schwarzer, Mark Crossley and Marlon Beresford in the pecking order in four years, the ‘keeper was forced to find pastures new, and so he arrived in Ireland on a three-month loan to Shelbourne in 2000, who were at the time managed by former Dundalk player and manager, Dermot Keely.

However, following an injury crisis in the Middlesbrough camp, that resulted in Bennion being the only recognised goalkeeper on their books, the then 20-year-old was re-called from Shels (who wanted cover for their European campaign) to taste his first, and what would be his last, competitive outing for the English club against Macclesfield Town in a Worthington Cup tie. Playing in a starting side that contained such players as Gianluca Festa, Alen Boksic and Paul Ince, Bennion acquitted himself well. After falling behind to an early second-half strike, Boro responded with an incredible late, late show, scoring twice in the final four minutes to secure a 2-1 victory and avoid an embarrassing exit in front of the lowest ever attendance at the Riverside stadium. Despite playing an important role in the triumph, however, Bennion was not to be seen in a Boro shirt again.

Shortly after, Chris moved on-loan to Scunthorpe United, and thanks mainly to his friendship with former Boro youths team-mate Richard Kell, the deal was made permanent by the Glanford Park outfit in 2001. The 6ft2 ‘keeper once again failed to make it into the first team on a regular basis (he made just six appearances) despite a string of fine performances in the United reserves, and in May 2002, he returned to Shelbourne when Pat Fenlon, a team-mate of Bennion’s during his loan spell at Shels, asked the Scot to sign a two-year deal. Chris made his debut for Shels in July 2002 in an 8-0 hammering of Cork side Rockmount in the FAI Cup, and less than a week later he made a second-half appearance in a 5-0 friendly defeat by Manchester United. United’s record European Cup goalscorer Ruud van Nistelrooy remarked after the game: “If only all my games were like this, life would be great.” We doubt, however, that the Dutchman specifically meant Bennion’s goalkeeping skills!

In the subsequent eighteen months, Bennion failed to dislodge Welsh native and former Dundalk goalkeeper, Steve Williams from the number one spot, and so the Scot was once again forced to move on in search of first-team football. After an approach from Premier Division side Longford Town, Chris instead opted for a move to First Division Dundalk, then managed by Trevor Anderson, and in January 2004 signed a two-year contract at Oriel Park. To date in his Dundalk career, Chris has experienced what he terms a “rollercoaster ride”, with the Scot for the first time in his football life managing to hold down a regular starting place. Not long after his move to the border club, Bennion was faced with a change of manager with the arrival of Jim Gannon, but impressed the former Dundalk player enough to continue in the number one jersey for the remainder of the season, with the club eventually finishing a creditable sixth. The ‘keeper remained as first choice for Gannon’s first full season in charge in 2005, but after beginning the year with a number of excellent performances and some stunning shot stopping saves, Chris’ progress met with a serious setback when he suffered a spinal injury which kept him out for virtually the whole season.

Despite the nature of the injury, however, Bennion battled back to take over the goalkeeping duties from Aaron Shanahan at the end of 2005, and having been re-signed by John Gill for 2006 he showed no ill effects of the potentially career threatening damage (although he did admit that he still suffers slight niggles). Chris began 2006 as first choice ‘keeper but, following some indifferent performances, lost his place to local lad Neil Gallagher. Shortly after, however, he regained that spot and didn’t look back thereafter, making 27 consecutive appearances for the Carrick Road club in all competitions between May and November. Under the guidance of Gill, and in particular ex-goalkeeping coach Dermot O’Neill, Bennion’s game improved considerably, with a number of match-winning performances which eventually saw the Lilywhites finish second to Shamrock Rovers in the First Division. Bennion went on to play both legs of the club’s 3-2 aggregate promotion/relegation playoff final win over Waterford United, however, for the first time such a victory was not enough to gain access to the top flight as Galway United instead took the coveted spot due to criteria set down by the FAI.

2007 saw Bennion continue in the same form and he admitted that his game had improved even further under new goalkeeping coach, Paul Fagan. However, midway through the campaign, following a red card for handling the ball outside the box in a home meeting with Kildare County on 5 July, Bennion once again lost his place in the team to Gallagher. An absence of eight games was ended following a 4-1 defeat in Limerick in August, and Bennion returned between the sticks in the 2-0 win over Wexford Youths at Oriel Park a week later. He went on to hold that spot for the remaining 12 games as Dundalk finished an ultimately disappointing third behind Cobh Ramblers and Finn Harps, before losing 2-0 to the latter in a one-legged playoff in Ballybofey. Despite not winning promotion, Bennion remained on for 2008 to make it a fifth straight season at Oriel Park and, like 2005, battled with the returning Shanahan for the number one spot. He also had another new coach to work with, Martin Connolly. Bennion again had an indifferent start, seeing red in the opening night draw at Shelbourne before missing the trip to Sporting Fingal as a result of incurring an additional match ban. However, that was one of just three games the Scot didn’t appear in - he was again dismissed at home to Fingal in May leading to another suspension - as Dundalk went on to win a dramatic First Division title race with virtually the last kick of the season. Entering the final game of the year a point behind Shels, Dundalk needed to win in Kildare, which they achieved with considerable ease (6-1), and hope that Limerick could at least hold out for a draw at Tolka Park. With the final whistle gone at Station Road and Shels leading 1-0, Dundalk thought their season had ended disappointingly, before Colin Scanlan’s last-gasp strike in Dublin sparked wild celebrations in Newbridge. Soon after, Gill was relieved of his duties as manager, leading to the arrival of Sean Connor, who chose to keep just three of the 23-man title-winning squad - Tiarnán Mulvenna, Simon Kelly and Bennion.

 
Profile last updated: July 2009