Mason Bennett

Mason Bennett
Personal information
Full name Mason Kane Bennett[1]
Date of birth 15 July 1996 (1996-07-15) (age 15)
Place of birth Shirebrook, England
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Derby County
Number 28
Youth career
2010–2011 Derby County
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2011– Derby County 7 (0)
National team‡
2011– England U16 2 (3)
2011– England U17 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:24, 10 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:39, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Mason Kane Bennett (born 15 July 1996) is an English professional footballer, who plays as a forward for Derby County in the Football League Championship. He has also represented England Youth at U-16 and U-17 Level.[2] He holds the record as Derby County's youngest-ever player, when he made his full debut with a start in a defeat at Middlesbrough on 22 October 2011 at the age of 15 years and 99 days old. He beat the previous record, set by Lee Holmes 9 years earlier, by 169 days.[3]

Contents

Career

Born in Shirebrook and attending Shirebrook Academy,[4] Bennett came through the Derby County Academy at Moor Farm and showed "huge potential"[2]at an early age, playing for the club's Under-16's side at just 14 years old and was tied to the club on a five-year contract.[2] When discussing the club's youth policy in September 2011, Derby academy manger Darren Wassall said of Bennett: "He has a great attitude, lots of promise and lots of ability. He is a centre forward who scores goals but he has other parts to his game as well. He works very hard, he lives for football and he is from a lovely family. We have high hopes for him, as we have for many other players."[2] Such was Bennett's ability that he was moved to the U-18 side in the 2011–12 season, and garnered much attention for his performance in a 6-1 win away to Middlesbrough U-18s, where he scored twice and set-up two goals.[5]

He also made sparing appearances at reserve level, making his debut for the reserve team aged 14 against Sheffield Wednesday reserves on 26 October 2010.[6] and making a substitute appearance for the reserve side in a victory at Burton Albion.[7] Bennett's progress was such that he was named in the first team squad for the first time in the League Cup game against Shrewsbury Town on 9 August 2011, under a month after his 15th birthday.[8][9][10] However, he remained an unused substitute as The Rams lost 3–2.[11]

He was considered for a role in a mid-week match away to Reading but, as Derby boss Nigel Clough later revealed "We would only get back from Reading at about 2am on Wednesday and he (had) school that morning!"[12] His potential and reputation at this point was already at a level where scouts from Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool were watching his progress.[13] He eventually made his full debut in a 2–0 defeat at Middlesbrough to become Derby's youngest ever first team player.[3] In the event of the match, Bennett played for 78 minutes and hit the bar in the second half. If the ball had gone in he would have set the record as the youngest scorer in Football League history.[14] Derby boss Nigel Clough described the performance as "a very mature debut."[14]

International career

Mason represented England at U-16 and U-17 level whilst still only 15, and scored on his debut for the England U-17 side in the Nordic Under-17 Tournament in Iceland in 2011 in a 1–1 draw against Norway U17 in the Group Stages.[15][16][2][7] He grabbed the headlines with his performance in England U-16's 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland U-16's Victory Shield, in which he set up England's opener and then scored two goals in a three-minute second-half spell.[17] He scored another goal in a 4-2 win against Scotland U-16's as England won the Victory Shield.[18]

Statistics

Club

As of 10 December 2011[19]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Derby County 2011–12 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Career Total 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0

International goals

As of 25 November 2011

U-16

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 October 2011 B2net Stadium, Chesterfield, England  Northern Ireland 2–1 3–1 Victory Shield
2. 12 October 2011 B2net Stadium, Chesterfield, England  Northern Ireland 3–1 3–1 Victory Shield
3. 25 November 2011 Caledonian Stadium, Inverness, Scotland  Scotland 4–1 4–2 Victory Shield

U-17

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 3 August 2011 Sauðárkrókur, Iceland Norway 1–0 1–1 Nordic Tournament

Honours

England U16

References

  1. ^ "Search 1837 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "O'Brien and Hendrick show that the Rams conveyor belt is starting to move again". thisisderbyshire. 5 Sept 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/story-13268291-detail/story.html. 
  3. ^ a b "Teams news: Bennett to make Rams history at Boro". thisisderbyshire. 22 October 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/story-13631868-detail/story.html?. 
  4. ^ "Shirebrook shooting star!". Shirebrook Academy. 28 September 2011. http://www.shirebrookacademy.org/index.php/shirebrook-shooting-star/. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
  5. ^ "Best yet from U18s in a Boro battering". thisisderbyshire. 11 October 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/story-13529254-detail/story.html?. 
  6. ^ "Level-headed Mason making good progress after landmark reserves outing". Derby Evening Telegraph. 30 October 2010. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Level-headed-Mason-making-good-progress-landmark-reserves-outing/story-11624917-detail/story.html. Retrieved 31 October 2011. 
  7. ^ a b "Mason set to show his class in Victory Shield clash". thisisderbyshire. 12 October 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/story-13538688-detail/story.html?. 
  8. ^ "Bennett Added to Rams squad". dcfc.co.uk. 9 August 2011. http://www.dcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10270~2415066,00.html. 
  9. ^ "Team News: DCFC v Shrewsbury Town". dcfc.co.uk. 9 August 2011. http://www.dcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10270~2414744,00.html. 
  10. ^ "Mason Bennett". dcfc.co.uk. 9 August 2011. http://www.dcfc.co.uk/page/FirstTeamProfilesDetail/0,,10270~56762,00.html. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
  11. ^ "Derby County 2–3 Shrewsbury Town". dcfc.co.uk. 9 August 2011. http://www.dcfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10270~59929,00.html. 
  12. ^ "Bennett could be set to feature at Middlesbrough". thisisderbyshire. 21 October 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/story-13620691-detail/story.html?. 
  13. ^ "School's out! Derby's 15-year-old wonderkid Bennett delays debut to attend school". Daily Mail. 21 October 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2051747/Mason-Bennett-15-year-old-misses-Derby-debut-school.html?. 
  14. ^ a b "Derby County boss Nigel Clough praises Mason Bennett". BBC Sport. 23 October 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15417543.stm. 
  15. ^ "Lions held by Norway in Nordics". 3 August 2011. http://www.thefa.com/England/mens-u17s/News/match-centre/2011/NorwayEngland/MatchReport?p=mr&mid=173529. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 
  16. ^ "Rams youngsters handed call-ups for Iceland trip". Derby Evening Telegraph. 14 July 2011. http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Rams-youngsters-handed-ups-Iceland-trip/story-12938564-detail/story.html. 
  17. ^ "Two-Goal Mason Is England's Hero". dcfc.co.uk. 13 October 2011. http://www.dcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10270~2480228,00.html?. 
  18. ^ "Victory Shield: Scotland U16 2 England U16 4". Hearld Scotland. 26 November 2011. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/more-scottish-football/victory-shield-scotland-u16-2-england-u16-4-1.1136724. 
  19. ^ "Mason Bennett". soccerbase.com. 9 August 2011. http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=61233. 

External links

Derby County F.C. – current squad