BENFLEET retained their title when the last of the Southend Charity Competition finals, the Section A senior trophy, was contested at Great Wakering Rovers’ Burroughs Park home.

Essex Olympian League Premier Division side Benfleet pulled off a 5-2 win over Southend Borough Combination Ekco Thames Park who had won that league’s top domestic trophy, the Walton Cup, earlier in the week by beating Borough Rovers.

Despite the teams competing at different levels in the football pyramid, it ws a close and eventful game.

Twice Benfleet took the lead, only for Ekco Thames Park to draw level, and, although Benfleet were generally the stronger team, for long periods of the game the lead could have gone either way.

Benfleet took the lead again midway through the second-half and extended their lead to 4-2 soon after.

A penalty was awarded to Ekco and had this been converted, the result may have been quite different, but Benfleet took advantage of their opponents’ tiring legs to score a further goal and win the game 5-2.

Prolific scorer Darren Godfrey struck four goals for Benfleet, while Jimmy Colville scored the other one.

Michael Gordon and Dale Elliott got Ekco’s goals in a match refereed by Peter Rawlings, assisted by Chris Holman and Andrew Sasiadek. The fourth official was Kevin Pratt.

The Southend Charity Shield, to the winners, and the BLESMA Golden Jubilee Shield, to the runners-up, together with the individual awards to the players and match officials, were presented by Susan Lockett, a representative of the match sponsor SP Financial Management Ltd.