1987–88 Kent Football League

The 1987–88 Kent Football League season (known as the Winstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the twenty-second 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
Season1987–88
ChampionsGreenwich Borough
Matches played342
Goals scored1,086 (3.18 per match)

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

The league was won, for the second successive season, by Greenwich Borough.[2]

At the end of the season both bottom clubs, Herne Bay and Crockenhill, 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 Greenwich Borough 36 26 5 5 111 50 +61 83
2 Faversham Town 36 23 7 6 92 36 +56 76
3 Whitstable Town 36 20 8 8 57 37 +20 68
4 Sittingbourne 36 17 11 8 68 53 +15 62
5 Hythe Town 36 19 4 13 70 58 +12 61
6 Kent Police 36 16 8 12 69 66 +3 56
7 Cray Wanderers 36 16 7 13 72 51 +21 55
8 Beckenham Town 36 16 5 15 61 55 +6 53
9 Tunbridge Wells 36 14 10 12 57 50 +7 52
10 Ramsgate 36 14 8 14 55 53 +2 50
11 Darenth Heathside 36 11 11 14 57 58 −1 44
12 Alma Swanley 36 11 11 14 41 47 −6 44
13 Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 36 11 8 17 45 61 −16 41
14 Slade Green 36 10 9 17 54 60 −6 39
15 Danson 36 10 9 17 44 68 −24 39
16 Deal Town 36 11 5 20 40 67 −27 38
17 Thames Polytechnic 36 10 8 18 37 65 −28 38
18 Herne Bay 36 9 8 19 35 69 −34 35 Re-elected
19 Crockenhill 36 4 6 26 21 82 −61 18
Source: "Non League Tables for 1987–1988: Kent League Division One". Non League Matters. Retrieved 13 June 2024.; "(col. 1) Winstonlead Kent League". Sheerness Times Guardian. 19 May 1988. p. 45. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Challenge Cup

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The 1987–88 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won, for the second occasion in three seasons, by Tunbridge Wells.[4]

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

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
Tunbridge Wells 3
Whitstable Town 0
Tunbridge Wells 2
Kent Police 1
Kent Police 2
Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 1
Tunbridge Wells 4
Hythe Town 1
Hythe Town 3
Sittingbourne 2
Hythe Town 2
Cray Wanderers 1
Darenth Heathside 0
Cray Wanderers 1

Second Round

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First Round

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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
Season1987–88
ChampionsFisher Athletic R
Matches played306
Goals scored1,036 (3.39 per match)

The league featured eighteen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare), seventeen of which had competed in the division the previous season together with one additional club, newly reformed Beckenham Town R.[1]

The division was won for a then record third successive season (and the fourth time in five seasons) by Fisher Athletic R.[6]

At the end of the season both bottom clubs, Hythe Town R and Herne Bay R were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[3] Prior to the start of the next season champions Fisher Athletic R and Darenth Heathside R withdrew.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Fisher Athletic R 34 27 4 3 111 21 +90 85 Resigned
2 Ashford Town R 34 23 5 6 77 25 +52 74
3 Faversham Town R 34 21 4 9 71 38 +33 67
4 Dover Athletic R 34 19 6 9 64 47 +17 63
5 Sittingbourne R 34 19 5 10 72 52 +20 62
6 Darenth Heathside R 34 16 11 7 63 43 +20 59 Resigned
7 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 34 16 9 9 59 47 +12 57
8 Whitstable Town R 34 13 7 14 31 44 −13 46
9 Sheppey United R 34 14 3 17 57 53 +4 45
10 Hastings Town R 34 13 6 15 60 69 −9 45
11 Ramsgate R 34 13 2 19 54 56 −2 41
12 Deal Town R 34 11 6 17 59 75 −16 39
13 Folkestone R 34 12 3 19 47 80 −33 39
14 Beckenham Town R 34 10 3 21 54 74 −20 33
15 Thames Polytechnic R 34 10 3 21 39 73 −34 33
16 Thanet United R 34 7 9 18 36 68 −32 30
17 Hythe Town R 34 8 4 22 41 85 −44 28 Re-elected
18 Herne Bay R 34 8 2 24 41 86 −45 26
Source: "Non League Tables for 1987–1988: Kent League Division Two". Non League Matters. Retrieved 13 June 2024.; "(col. 1) Winstonlead Kent League: Division Two". Sheerness Times Guardian. 19 May 1988. p. 45. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Division Two Cup

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The 1987–88 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won, for a second successive season, by Sittingbourne R.[7]

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 Faversham Town F.C.[8] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Ashford Town R 2
Deal Town R 0
Ashford Town R 4[a] 0
Sittingbourne R 4[a] 1
Sittingbourne R 4
Hastings Town R 1
Sittingbourne R 3
Sheppey United R 2
Sheppey United R 1
Beckenham Town R 0
Sheppey United R 3
Fisher Athletic R 2
Fisher Athletic R 4
Darenth Heathside R 1
  1. ^ a b After extra time, score at 90 minutes: 2–2

Second Round

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First Round

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Sources:

References

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  1. ^ a b Hudd, Tony (25 June 1987). "Pyramid holds firm". Kentish Express. Ashford. p. 36.
  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 Hudd, Tony (23 June 1988). "Clubs in danger of being cut off". Kentish Express. Ashford. p. 80.
  4. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Results And Fixtures: Fixtures: Saturday: Winstonlead League Cup final". Kentish Express. Ashford. 28 April 1988. p. 70.
  6. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Soccer Results And Fixtures: Fixtures: Monday: Winstonlead Kent League Cup (division 2) Final". Kentish Express. Ashford. 12 May 1988. p. 62.