Dave Bennett
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| Dave Bennett | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Anthony Bennett | |
| Date of birth | June 11, 1959 | |
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1978 - 1981 1981 - 1983 1983 - 1989 1989 - 1990 1990 - 1992 1991 1992 |
Manchester City Cardiff City Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday Swindon Town → Shrewsbury Town (loan) Nuneaton Borough |
54 (9) 76 (18) 172 (25) 28 (0) 1 (0) 2 (?) Non-league |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
David Anthony Bennett (born July 11, 1959 in Manchester) is an English former Association football player. He is most famous for playing in two FA Cup Finals; 1981 for Manchester City, when he finished on the losing side, and 1987, when he produced a Man of the Match performance as Coventry City beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2.
Born in Manchester, Bennett began his career at Manchester City and with them reached the 1981 FA Cup final, which they lost to Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 after a replay. He eventually moved on to Cardiff City, for a fee of £120,000, where he linked up with his brother Gary. The club were relegated in his first year but he was instrumental in the club moving straight back up the following year forming an impressive partnership with the Cardiff strikeforce of Bob Hatton and Jeff Hemmerman. However he left the club at the end of the year to join Coventry City for £120,000, a fee which was settled by tribunal.
Coventry's - and Bennett's - finest hour came in the FA Cup final of 1987. Trailing 1-0 to an early goal, Bennett hit back with a ninth-minute goal. Tottenham regained the lead on 40 minutes before Bennett's cross was met by Keith Houchen to produce a memorable goal. Coventry went on to win via a Gary Mabbutt own-goal in extra time.
After Coventry, Bennett spent a brief period at Sheffield Wednesday before joining Swindon Town in September 1990. However, injury misery immediately followed, with Bennett breaking his leg in only his second match for the club. After spending a year recovering, Bennett was loaned out to Shrewsbury Town to regain full match-fitness. Astonishingly, he broke the same leg, again in his second appearance for the club, effectively ending his professional career.
Bennett later played non-league football with Nuneaton Borough before hanging up his boots. He occasionally plays in Masters tournaments, and also makes selected media appearances.
[edit] External links
- Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
