Non league star Elliot Benyon scores a worldie with fans calling for it to be a contender for the next Puskas Award.
Oxford City are in hot form right now, sitting top of the National League South table in the sixth tier of English football.
On Sunday, they hosted Slough Town and in front of 1,208 fans, played out a thrilling encounter. However with the scores locked at 1-1, the away side’s goalkeeper Michael Edegbe came way off his line to make a clearance, only to scuff his effort on the 3G artificial pitch.
The ball didn’t travel as far as expected and instead went straight towards Benyon, who controlled it with a chest-down, spotting that the goal was vacant with Edegbe retreating back to where he should be and the midfielder tried his luck with a first-time volley on the bounce.
The 34-year-old struck the ball so cleanly that it simply sailed through the air without touching the ground and flew into the top corner, almost lifting the goal off the floor in the process.
That strike brought deafening cheers from the Oxford end as the players bundled Benyon on the side of the pitch.
And the goal itself turned out to be crucial as his side went on to clinch a 3-2 win to keep them top of the National League South standings.
Naturally, there were calls for the stunning strike to be included on the Puskas 2021 list, such as from the club itself.
Oxford made the inevitable comparison to David Beckham’s incredible strike for Manchester United against Wimbledon back in 1995 when they uploaded footage of the goal on social media.
“It’s Benyon not Beckham!” The club’s official Twitter account posted, alongside a video of the goal.
🤯 It’s Benyon not Beckham!
Ell’s putting his nomination forward for the Puskas award. We could watch this all day! #OCFC pic.twitter.com/Ph0ozRuhDY
— Oxford City FC (@OxCityFC) December 28, 2021
“As soon as it dropped, I knew the keeper was out of his box and I thought I’d just hit it,” said Benyon.
“I’ve hit it so sweetly and to see it go in was a great feeling.”
Benyon added: “It’s fantastic, it was a great occasion.
“Oxford United weren’t playing, so a few came down from that.
“It was a great day and to get the win was even better.”
“You’ve just got to believe that your chance is going to come and when it comes you’ve got to take it,” the 34-year-old said.
“If we’re going to do anything this season then whoever plays has got to come in and do their bit.
“We’ve got 18 players and every single one is capable of coming in and doing a job.”
City manager David Oldfield was back in the dugout after missing the 4-2 home defeat to Dorking Wanderers 12 days earlier and paid tribute to an unforgettable strike.
“It was a sensational goal,” he said.
“We managed to get a semi-press on and pick up a second ball, then we showed some real quality through Elliot Benyon to score from distance.
“It was one of those goals you remember for a long time and we were very fortunate to be here to see it.”
Oldfield was pleased that his players seized the moment on a record-breaking day for City.
He said: “We all know there’s times where you have a big crowd and you don’t always get the performance or the result that everybody desires.
“We’re very pleased to get that, it was fantastic to see the crowd here.
“It’s a really important day for the club to try to look after them and hopefully they’ll come back.”
Twitter users reacted as the non league star scores a worldie from the halfway line as fans call for it to be a Puskas Award contender…
@thedanhorler: Loved watching peak Benyon back along!
@WR_Coach: Haven’t seen crowds or a roar like this at Court Place Farm before. Love to see it 👊
@NLSTube: Amazing strike!!
@blueburritto: Pick that out of the onion bag
@CymruOllie: The most satisfying goal you’ll see today 😍
@mw87tino: Love this! Go on Els!
@ColeMackay8: What a ping 💥
@Boydy_72: What a hit sonn!!!! What a hitt!!!!!
@JakeyyBoyy_: Doing that on the half volley has made that finish a 1000x better, serious zip
@guyc_01: Peach of a goal
@MassiveBaconFan: Jesus Christ what a hit
@Bakler1: As frustrating as this was being against us! But that is one hell of a finish from Elliot 👏👏👏
@ImRobM: That’s a beaut.
@CharlieCarter_: Torquay legend 🙌🏼
@JacobBaitup4: The technique is a joke 👏🏼👏🏼
@MButch1984: Yes Els great strike pal
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