1981–82 Kent Football League

The 1981–82 Kent Football League season was the sixteenth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition featuring teams based in and around the county of Kent in England.

The League structure comprised two divisions: Division One and Division Two with the latter known as the Reserves Section (reserves teams were not permitted in Division One). Additionally there were two league cup competitions: the Challenge Cup for the Division One clubs and another for the teams in Division Two.

Division One

edit
Kent Football League Division One
Season1981–82
ChampionsErith & Belvedere
PromotedErith & Belvedere
Matches played240
Goals scored733 (3.05 per match)

The league featured sixteen clubs which had all competed in the previous season.

The league was won by Erith & Belvedere,[1] who left the league following their election to the Southern League.[2]


League table

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Erith & Belvedere 30 17 10 3 45 22 +23 44 Elected to the Southern League Southern Division
2 Sittingbourne 30 16 11 3 63 33 +30 43
3 Chatham Town 30 18 5 7 61 34 +27 41
4 Sheppey United 30 16 5 9 60 40 +20 37
5 Crockenhill 30 11 13 6 54 41 +13 35
6 Slade Green Athletic 30 11 13 6 45 32 +13 35
7 Whitstable Town 30 11 12 7 48 37 +11 34
8 Cray Wanderers 30 13 6 11 51 40 +11 32
9 Deal Town 30 11 10 9 44 36 +8 32
10 Ramsgate 30 9 9 12 44 47 −3 27
11 Hythe Town 30 10 7 13 48 52 −4 27
12 Darenth Heathside 30 10 4 16 37 50 −13 24
13 Tunbridge Wells 30 8 6 16 36 58 −22 22
14 Herne Bay 30 7 6 17 36 63 −27 20
15 Faversham Town 30 4 8 18 26 50 −24 16
16 Kent Police 30 2 7 21 35 98 −63 11
Source: "Kent League 1966–92: 1981–82". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024. "England – Kent League: Final Table Kent League (Division 1) '81–'82". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Challenge Cup

edit

The 1981–82 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Deal Town.[3]

The competition, contested by all sixteen clubs in the league, comprised four single match tie rounds culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Sittingbourne F.C.[4] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

edit
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Slade Green Athletic 2 1[a]
Sittingbourne 2 2[a]
Sittingbourne 2
Deal Town 3
Sheppey United 1
Deal Town 2
Deal Town 2
Erith & Belvedere 1
Crockenhill 1
Erith & Belvedere 2
Erith & Belvedere 3
Chatham Town 0
Chatham Town 2
Hythe Town 1
  1. ^ a b Replay

First Round

edit

Sources:

Reserves Section

edit

The letter "R" following team names indicates a club's reserves team.

Division Two featured mostly reserves teams (which were not permitted in Division One) from clubs from Kent and the adjacent area whose first team played in Division One and other higher ranked leagues. There was a League Cup competition for the teams in the section.

Division Two

edit
Kent Football League Division Two
Season1981–82
ChampionsMaidstone United R
Matches played272
Goals scored991 (3.64 per match)

The league featured seventeen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare) who had all competed in the division the previous season.

The division was won by Maidstone United R,[5] part of a Division Two league and cup double.

At the end of the season Deal Town R resigned from the league.

League table

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Maidstone United R 32 27 3 2 123 32 +91 57
2 Dover R 32 18 6 8 55 38 +17 42
3 Welling United R 32 18 5 9 88 42 +46 41
4 Chatham Town R 32 17 6 9 69 42 +27 40
5 Dartford R 32 16 7 9 68 50 +18 39
6 Sittingbourne R 32 16 6 10 64 45 +19 38
7 Erith & Belvedere R 32 16 5 11 58 41 +17 37
8 Hastings United R 32 15 4 13 55 55 0 34
9 Herne Bay R 32 14 5 13 48 51 −3 33
10 Sheppey United R 32 14 3 15 60 67 −7 31
11 Folkestone R 32 11 7 14 66 66 0 29
12 Darenth Heathside R 32 10 4 18 44 62 −18 24
13 Hythe Town R 32 10 3 19 42 71 −29 23
14 Ashford Town R 32 9 4 19 38 55 −17 22
15 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 32 8 5 19 41 92 −51 21
16 Whitstable Town R 32 8 4 20 35 76 −41 20 Re-elected
17 Deal Town R 32 5 3 24 37 106 −69 13 Resigned
Source: "Non League Tables for 1981–1982: Kent League Division Two". Non League Matters. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Division Two Cup

edit

The 1981–82 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won by Maidstone United R,[6] part of a Division Two league and cup double.

The competition was contested by all seventeen clubs in the division and comprised five single match tie rounds (with a single tie in the first round) culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Chatham Town F.C.[7] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

edit
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Folkestone R 5
Dartford R 3
Folkestone R 1
Dover R 3
Sheppey United R 2
Dover R 5
Dover R 1
Maidstone United R 6
Maidstone United R
Chatham Town R
Maidstone United R
(Quarter-final match 4 winner)
Welling United R
Winner of Ashford Town R v Hastings United R

Second Round

edit

First Round

edit

Sources:

References

edit
  1. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Southern League New Boys". Evening Post. Reading. 16 April 1982. p. 18.
  3. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Complete Fixtures Guide: Tomorrow: Soccer: Kent League Cup Final". Kentish Express. Ashford. 7 May 1982. p. 27.
  5. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Complete Fixtures Guide: Tomorrow: Soccer: Kent League: Division 2 League Cup Final". Kentish Express. Ashford. 23 April 1982. p. 26.