Sport
Inquest into Chorley teen footballer Luke Bennett’s death finds he died ‘almost instantly’ after 11,000-volt shock
Such a terrible accident.
Following the inquest into the tragic death of teenager Luke Bennett in 2021, it now said that the promising young footballer died “almost instantly” following the electric shock.
Bennett, 17, sadly passed away after being electrocuted by a powerline hanging above the Euxton Villa FC’s Jim Fowler Memorial Ground nearly Chorley on 6 March 2021.
Born in Chorley himself, the teenager who was a youth player with AFC Fylde was hit with around 11,000 volts when a metal pole he was holding over his head came into contact with the power cable above while “messing about” with friends.
Beginning around 6pm three boys — Lewis Geszke, Ben Wilcock and Bennett himself — were playing with the metal pole used to separate the subs bench from the pitch and were shocked by the electric current, and despite initially standing up from the shock, Luke the once again collapsed to the ground.
Following the inquest more than two years after the incident, the County Hall in Preston found that the Lancashire lad’s heart had been “completely stopped” by the electrocution and despite efforts of paramedics and a doctor, he unfortunately died around 6:48pm.
As for the other two boys, Lewis and Ben, the pair were left unconscious for a short period as a result of the shock before waking up to see CPR being performed on Luke.
The inquest heard that because Luke’s heart had been damaged to such an extent and his friends had been warned not to touch him due to the voltage, he sadly had little chance of surviving. However, consultant cardiologist Dr Ian Schofield said that although he likely died “almost instantly”, he may have been saved had CPR been carried out earlier or if a defibrillator had been available.
The inquest into Luke Bennett’s death is set to conclude on Wednesday, 24 May, with his father Thomas (once himself a professional footballer for Wolverhampton Wanderers) paying tribute to a boy who was always “the life and soul” and had an “infectious personality”.
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Dad Thomas went on to tell Area Coroner Kate Bisset how his son was “very outgoing” and spent most of his days just “having a kick-about… He just got on with things.”
Luke was widely considered to be an exciting young talent with a bright future ahead of him, spending time at the Blackburn Rovers, Burnley FC and Preston North End’s academies before going on to play as a winger for Lancashire-based National League North side AFC Fylde.
Writing shortly after his passing, the club said they were “absolutely devastated and heartbroken” by the news of the accident, stating that “Luke was a kind, popular young man who was much loved by his teammates and coaches” and who would “instantly light up a room with his bubbly personality.”
Rest in peace, Luke.
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Featured Image — AFC Fylde
Sport
Manchester City complete the treble after winning first Champions League trophy
Danny Jones
Manchester City have done the incredible by winning the hallowed treble, winning not only this year’s Premier League title but the FA Cup and now the club’s first-ever Champions League trophy.
Despite being considered favourites by most coming into the Champions League final against Inter Milan, Man City previously hadn’t won a European trophy since the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970 and have been pushing hard for a first UCL title ever since Pep Guardiola joined the club.
Beating Inter 1-0, the Blues had their eyes well and truly focused on glory all night and, given the kind of football they have once again played this season, managed to do what many had already begun to accept as inevitable for a team of this talent.
This is just the 10th time in history that anyone has won the treble, with City becoming part of an exclusive club comprised of just seven other teams to have ever achieved the impressive feat — their historic rivals Manchester United, obviously, being one of them.
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Now though, that 1999 team has some serious contention when it comes to the greatest of all time, as Pep adds yet another truly remarkable season to his belt.
Not only is that Manchester City’s first Champions League trophy but it’s Guardiola’s third in his career, having finally broken the duck of not winning a European title at anywhere but Barcelona.
However, it looks like that sticking point is now well and truly behind him, with this year’s UCL title making it 35 major honours in 15 years as a manager.
Not only will the Spaniard undoubtedly go down as one of if not the greatest manager of all time, but this current generation of City players show no signs of slowing down and are certain to win countless more trophies. Congratulations and enjoy the party Blues — it’s going to be unforgettable!
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Featured Image — Manchester City (via Twitter)
Sport
Manchester Futsal Club mop up Team and Coach of the Year awards after stellar season
Danny Jones
Manchester Fustal Club have picked up a pair of impressive awards following a brilliant season, winning both Club of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.
The Manchester side finished as runners-up in this year’s National Futsal League campaign, winning nine, drawing two and losing just three of their 14 games all season.
Despite finishing behind this year’s champions Bloomsbury in the men’s first tier, the promising young side and Manchester Futsal Club Women‘s team have been both recognised for their progress over the past year, with the Greater Manchester girls taking a year out as part of a big development drive.
With one of the lowest average ages in the league, the squad’s stellar second-place finish looks to be a sign of even better things to come next season.
Better still, the accolades didn’t stop there as player turned coach (for this season at least), Ryan Williams, won the National Futsal Series Tier Two Coach of the Year award at the 2023 Grand Finals as well.
After suffering a heavy ACL injury, Williams decided to spend his year coaching the B team, which he also led to second position, finishing just six points behind league leaders Derby and only just missing out on a place in the Futsal Champions League preliminaries.
At just 23, Ryan is one of the youngest to have ever won the award and having studied at Ashton Sixth Form College, the school passed on a “huge well done” to the youngster, adding that “the Sport and Public Services department, in particular, are hugely proud of your achievement.”
Writing on social media, Williams also heaped massive praise and credit on co-owner Ilya Ovechkin and coach Raducio King, among many others, who helped him on his coaching journey.
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Speaking to The Manc, he went on to add: “It was my first season working with this squad and the competition was high.
“There was never an easy game with a lot of other great coaches across the country in Tier 2, so to win Coach of the Season is my greatest achievement as a coach. Manchester Futsal winning Club of the Season also goes to show our club values and how well the club is run from the academy right up to the first team.
“It shows how much work all the staff have put in this season to make us the best club in the country.”
With two teams finishing as runners-up in the two highest leagues in the country, and the women’s team beginning to shape an exciting new squad ahead of returning to the fold next season, it’s been a brilliant year all-round for Manchester Futsal Club. We’re excited to see what comes next.
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Featured Image — Manchester Futsal Club (via Twitter)
