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1985–86 Kent Football League

The 1985–86 Kent Football League season (known as the Winstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth 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

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Kent Football League Division One
Season1985–86
ChampionsAlma Swanley
Matches played306
Goals scored923 (3.02 per match)

The league featured eighteen clubs, seventeen of which competed in the previous season together with one additional club:

The league was won, for the only time in their history, by Alma Swanley.[2]

At the end of the season both bottom clubs, Slade Green Athletic and Deal Town were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[3]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Alma Swanley 34 22 9 3 78 39 +39 75
2 Sittingbourne 34 21 7 6 76 37 +39 70
3 Crockenhill 34 21 5 8 68 33 +35 68
4 Darenth Heathside 34 17 11 6 57 32 +25 62
5 Tunbridge Wells 34 15 13 6 99 58 +41 58
6 Faversham Town 34 16 6 12 53 50 +3 54
7 Greenwich Borough 34 13 10 11 51 54 −3 49
8 Ramsgate 34 12 8 14 50 53 −3 44
9 Kent Police 34 12 7 15 53 61 −8 43
10 Thames Polytechnic 34 11 9 14 36 49 −13 42
11 Herne Bay 34 12 6 16 34 52 −18 42
12 Hythe Town 34 11 7 16 50 59 −9 40
13 Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 34 12 4 18 54 63 −9 40
14 Cray Wanderers 34 9 12 13 34 51 −17 39
15 Beckenham Town 34 10 7 17 43 64 −21 37
16 Whitstable Town 34 9 9 16 37 52 −15 36
17 Slade Green Athletic 34 5 10 19 14 42 −28 25 Re-elected
18 Deal Town 34 6 4 24 36 74 −38 22
Source: "Kent League 1966–92: 1985–86". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024., "England – Kent League: Final Table Kent League (Division 1) '85–'86". 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

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The 1985–86 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Tunbridge Wells, their third win following two occassions during the 1970s.[4]

The competition, contested by all eighteen clubs in Division One, comprised five single match tie rounds (with the first round featuring two ties) culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Sittingbourne F.C.[5] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Whitstable Town 0
Sittingbourne 2
Sittingbourne 2
Darenth Heathside 3
Darenth Heathside 2[a] 2[b] 2[c]
Deal Town 2[a] 2[b] 1[c]
Darenth Heathside 0
Tunbridge Wells 1
Tunbridge Wells 5
Herne Bay 2
Tunbridge Wells 3
Crockenhill 1
Alma Swanley 0
Crockenhill 2
  1. ^ a b After extra time
  2. ^ a b 1st Replay, after extra time
  3. ^ a b 2nd Replay

Second Round

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First Round

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  • Cray Wanderers 2 – 2 (aet) Metropolitan Police (Hayes)
  • Replay 1: Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 3 – 3 (aet) Cray Wanderers
  • Replay 2: Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 1 – 1 (aet) Cray Wanderers; Metropolitan Police (Hayes) won 4–3 on penalties
  • Kent Police 0 – 1 Hythe Town

Sources:

Reserves Section

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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

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Kent Football League Division Two
Season1985–86
ChampionsFisher Athletic R
Matches played306
Goals scored1,015 (3.32 per match)

The league featured eighteen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare), sixteen of which had competed in the division the previous season together with two additional clubs[6]

The division was won for the second occasion in three seasons by Fisher Athletic R[7] who pipped Sheppey United R to the top position by goal difference only.

After the end of the season both Canterbury City R and Chatham Town R resigned from the division.[3]

League Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Fisher Athletic R 34 25 5 4 95 34 +61 80
2 Sheppey United R 34 25 5 4 76 30 +46 80
3 Sittingbourne R 34 20 7 7 75 38 +37 67
4 Ashford Town R 34 19 5 10 53 44 +9 62
5 Faversham Town R 34 16 7 11 67 52 +15 55
6 Thames Polytechnic R 34 15 7 12 58 55 +3 52
7 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 34 15 5 14 51 45 +6 50
8 Folkestone R 34 13 9 12 49 48 +1 48
9 Darenth Heathside R 34 12 11 11 63 54 +9 47
10 Thanet United R 34 13 8 13 54 54 0 47
11 Erith & Belvedere R 34 13 7 14 58 52 +6 46
12 Dover Athletic R 34 14 4 16 58 56 +2 46
13 Hythe Town R 34 14 4 16 63 61 +2 46
14 Deal Town R 34 8 11 15 42 61 −19 35
15 Canterbury City R 34 9 7 18 49 71 −22 34 Resigned
16 Herne Bay R 34 6 8 20 33 67 −34 26
17 Whitstable Town R 34 5 8 21 32 86 −54 23
18 Chatham Town R 34 4 2 28 39 107 −68 14 Resigned
Source: "Non League Tables for 1985–1986: Kent League Division Two". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Division Two Cup

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The 1985–86 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won by Faversham Town R.[8]

The competition, contested by all eighteen clubs in the division, comprised five single match tie rounds (with the first round featuring two ties) culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Ramsgate F.C.[9] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Sheppey United R 3
Fisher Athletic R 1
Sheppey United R 1[a]
Deal Town R 2[a]
Deal Town R 2
Thanet United R 1
Deal Town R 0
Faversham Town R 2
Erith & Belvedere R
Herne Bay R
Erith & Belvedere R 0
Faversham Town R 2
Faversham Town R 5
Chatham Town R 0
  1. ^ a b After extra time, score at 90 minutes 0–0

Second Round

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First Round

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Sources:

References

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  1. ^ "Thames Polytechnic". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  2. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Jubilant Deal stay in league". East Kent Mercury. Larkfield, Maidstone. 19 June 1986. p. 36.
  4. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Senior soccer details: Fixtures: Saturday: Winstonlead Cup final". Kent Messenger. Larkfield, Maidstone. 2 May 1986. p. 79.
  6. ^ "Deal, Fisher survive expulsion bid". Kentish Express. Ashford. 28 June 1985. p. 45.
  7. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Gazette Soccer: Results: Wednesday: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 2 Cup Final". Kentish Gazette. Larkfield, Maidstone. 16 May 1986. p. 61.
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