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Gunners to fire in honour of stalwart Benjafield
by
Ky Capel
Dorchester Town stalwart Brian Benjafield is marking 15 years' of
service with a testimonial match against an Arsenal XI tonight at
the Jewson Stadium (7pm).
Dorchester's commercial manager will be in the dugout while Magpie
legends such as Matt Holmes, Mark Ormerod, Andy Harris, Scott Morgan,
Tommy Killick, Matt Groves and Owen Pickard take to the field. Current
Magpie Darren Watts is also expected to feature, as is young keeper
Sean Lillington.
The Gunners' line-up will be made up of future stars from their
reserve and youth teams. However, Arsenal hero Tony Adams will be
guest of honour at the game.
Benjafield said: "I'm really looking forward to seeing a few
old faces and I'm happy to get the testimonial because the idea
has been floating around for a while now. I won't be playing but
I will be on the touchline assisting Shaun Brooks.
"The draw for us is that we have got an Arsenal XI coming
down and a lot of thanks should go to Stuart Morgan for sorting
that out and helping to bring Tony Adams as well."
The former Bournemouth and Weymouth midfielder, who was assistant-manager
at Dorchester under former bosses Stuart Morgan and Mark Morris,
says he has plenty of fond memories from his time at the county
town club.
He added: "The good times by far outweigh the bad, such as
going to Oxford United in the FA Cup when Stuart Morgan was manager.
We may have lost 9-1 but reaching the first round is always a great
achievement for a non-League side.
"Then, under Mark Morris, we played Wigan, who are now in
the Premier League, away in the first round of the Cup and were
leading after about ten minutes.
"We had the chance to go 2-0 up but eventually lost 3-1, however,
we didn't disgrace ourselves."
Despite seeing the Magpies relegated from the Blue Square South
this season Benjafield is confident they can bounce back from the
disappointment.
He said: "The club's been relegated before but bounced back
so it's not the end of the world.
"I've enjoyed my time at the club and I want to see the club
get back where it belongs and higher."
Tickets for tonight's game can still be purchased at the ground.
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