Port Vale play-off hero Mal Benning a pioneer for British South Asians in football, says Jobi McAnuff | Football News
Port Vale play-off hero Mal Benning continues to fly the flag as a pioneer for British South Asians in football, according to Jobi McAnuff.
Benning’s Wembley debut was the stuff that dreams are made of as he rounded off the scoring in front of the Port Vale fans in a 3-0 win against his old club Mansfield to clinch promotion to League One.
Fellow Punjabi footballer Danny Batth helped Sunderland earn promotion back to the Sky Bet Championship at Wembley the previous weekend, putting in a flawless display in a 2-0 win against Wycombe in the League One play-off final.
Speaking in the build-up to Port Vale’s clash with Mansfield, Benning told Sky Sports of his pride at the opportunity to represent British South Asian footballers, particularly Indians and Sikhs, on the pitch at the home of English football, adding he hoped he can help inspire the next generation of talent to emerge from the community.
McAnuff, whose appointment as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Football Association was this week ratified by the FA Council, told Sky Sports: “We talk about representation a lot, and certainly, it’s a portion of society that we don’t see represented nearly enough in the game.
“He has certainly been a pioneer and someone who has been flying the flag for many, many years. It’s really great to see him get his day, and against his former club – it always seems to be the way – he pops up with the goal.
“He was fantastic, both full-backs were key to the game, but big, big credit to him. He had to be ready. He hasn’t been playing a lot recently and he’s come back into the team, and he’s taken his opportunity – it’s a big, big credit to Mal Benning.”
Benning: Massive step for South Asians in The Game
Port Vale defender Mal Benning on Sky Sports Football:
“The main thing is we got the win. I’m happy to get the third goal and kill the game off. I saw it go into the back of the net and I just thought ‘I’ve scored at Wembley’.
“I came on Sky Sports News earlier in the week talking about [South] Asians in football and that [today] was a massive step. I don’t care that it’s me, it could have been anyone, but for the Sikh community as well as South Asians in football, that was a massive step.”
How Port Vale beat Mansfield
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Highlights of the League Two play-off final between Mansfield and Port Vale at Wembley Stadium.
There are so often sliding doors moments in these finals, and this one came so early for Mansfield. After just nine minutes Jamie Murphy was presented with a glorious opportunity to hand his side the lead after James Gibbons had misread a cross – but he was denied by Aidan Stone from close range.
That allowed Harratt the chance to give Vale the lead. Just a minute after he had hit the post with a rasping drive from 20 yards, he did find the goal on 20 minutes as he latched onto Mal Benning’s deflected cross to plant a header into the bottom corner.
Four minutes later it was 2-0 as David Worrall’s cross from the right was headed onto the bar by Ben Garrity, before the ball dropped kindly for former Manchester United striker Wilson to head in.
The situation soon went from bad to worse for Mansfield. Hawkins, booked just a few minutes earlier, picked up a second yellow for a rash lunge on Wilson – leaving his side with 10 men.
Mansfield could have got back into it just before the break as a free-kick was spilled by Aidan Stone and landed in the path of Rhys Oates, but his shot was hooked off the line by Connor Hall to maintain Vale’s advantage.
There would be no comeback for the Stags, as Benning sealed the game late on for Vale against his old side, volleying home brilliantly from Worrall’s cross.
British South Asians in Football
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