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Benfleet Football Club is a football club based in Benfleet, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One South and play at Park Lane in Canvey Island.

History
The club was established in 1922, and were initially named Benfleet United. After merging with Parkfields Athletic, they were renamed Benfleet Rangers. The club played in the Southend & District League and won the Essex Junior Cup in 1967–68. After winning the league title in 1971–72, the club joined the Essex Olympian League and dropped the Rangers part of the name. They were runners-up in their first two seasons in the league. In 1981 the league gained a second division, with Benfleet becoming members of Division One. They were league runners-up again in 1981–82 before the league was renamed the Essex Intermediate League in 1986. The club were subsequently champions and Essex Intermediate Cup winners in 1988–89.

In 1995–96 Benfleet finished second-from-bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two. They won the Essex Premier Cup in 2002–03. The league reverted to its original name in 2005, and the club were Division Two champions in 2006–07, earning promotion to the renamed Premier Division. After three seasons in the Premier Division, they were relegated back to Division One at the end of the 2009–10 season. The 2013–14 season ended with them being relegated to Division Two, and the club resigned from the league midway through the following season.

Benfleet then re-entered the Essex Olympian League in Division Three for the 2015–16 season, going on to win the division and secure promotion to Division Two. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club successfully applied for promotion to the new Division One South of the Eastern Counties League, a three-division jump.

Ground
The club originally played at the Recreation Ground in Benfleet. When they moved up to the Eastern Counties League, the first team began a groundshare at Canvey Island's Park Lane. The remainder of the club's teams remained at Woodside Park in Benfleet.

23/09/23 League Hutton 0 Benfleet 0
20/09/23 League Benfleet 3 Basildon Town 2
13/09/23 Cup Benfleet 0 Cannons Wood 0 (Benfleet won 4-2 on pens)
09/09/23 League Parkview 1 Benfleet 4
06/09/23 League Benfleet 1 Burnham Ramblers 1
02/09/23 League Enfield Borough 1 Benfleet 1

Benfleet are currently in 6th place in the Thurlow Nunn First Division South. They have 18 points from 9 games – 5 wins, 3 draws, and 1 defeat. They have a +7 goal difference.

Andrew Adegbite
Billy Carter
Jacob Cleaver
Ray Coker
Toby John Dickinson
Deolindo Dos Santos Lima
James Falaise
Michael Daniel Finneran
Michael Fitzgibbon
Ben Foord
Grant Frances
Jake Frost
Florent Gislette
Cameron Harris
Sonny Hartman
Tyler David Hope
Matthew Hubbard
Tyler Hubbard
Charlee Samuel Jackson
Max Jobson
Martyn Lacey
Robert Thomas Lacey
Taylor Lawrence
Jay Mark R Nash
Billy Purdy
Tyler Richards
Cory Rider
Aaron Russell
Alex Salmon
Nathan Saunders
David Saxton
Lee Scott
Mason Shave
Billy Shulver
Joe Shulver
Henry Sims
Matthew Stevens Brown
Frankie Stone
Guy Wilson

Taylor Lawrence is the top scorer with 3 goals from midfield. Max Johnson and Andrew Adegbite both have 2 and are both strikers.

Just 24 minutes and 13.4 miles get you to the island by Google or by any other vehicle you choose (yes, I know Google is not a car!).

It’s not one of the bigger cup competitions but it is one that The Bridge can go far in and any competition with Essex in the title is alright by me. Can The Bridge continue their good form of late and progress to the next round as we take on Benfleet on the island? It’s a day by the seaside, sort of!
There remains just one thing left to say….