2008–09 Kent Football League

The 2008–09 Kent Football League season (known as the Bulmers Cider Kent League reflecting the sponsorship by Bulmers) was the 43rd in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.

The League structure comprised three divisions: a Premier Division together with Divisions One and Two – the latter two were known as the Reserves Section, comprising reserves teams which were not permitted in the Premier Division. Additionally there were two league cup competitions, the Challenge Cup for the Premier Division clubs and another for the teams in the two divisions of the Reserves Section.

Premier Division

Kent Football League Premier Division

Season	2008–09
Champions	VCD Athletic
Promoted	VCD Athletic
Matches played	272
Goals scored	965 (3.55 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The division featured 17 clubs, 16 of which competed in the previous season together with one additional club:

• Norton Sports, joined from the Kent County League

At the end of the season three clubs left the division:

• VCD Athletic, promoted to the Isthmian League Division One North
• Croydon, transferred to the Combined Counties League
• Slade Green, resigned as the club folded

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Season end notes
1	VCD Athletic	32	22	4	6	68	24	+44	70	Promoted to the Isthmian League Division One North
2	Hythe Town	32	21	4	7	71	39	+32	67
3	Greenwich Borough	32	20	3	9	60	45	+15	63
4	Faversham Town	32	20	2	10	83	40	+43	62
5	Holmesdale	32	18	7	7	57	30	+27	61
6	Herne Bay	32	19	3	10	68	50	+18	60
7	Erith Town	32	15	9	8	59	39	+20	54
8	Erith & Belvedere	32	16	5	11	67	50	+17	53
9	Croydon	32	15	4	13	58	40	+18	49	Transferred to the Combined Counties League
10	Tunbridge Wells	32	13	6	13	53	50	+3	45
11	Norton Sports	32	12	4	16	44	57	−13	40
12	Deal Town	32	10	8	14	57	53	+4	38
13	Slade Green	32	11	4	17	53	66	−13	37	Resigned: club folded
14	Sevenoaks Town	32	9	4	19	44	67	−23	31
15	Beckenham Town	32	8	4	20	54	76	−22	28
16	Lordswood	32	6	3	23	43	79	−36	21
17	Sporting Bengal United	32	0	0	32	26	160	−134	0

Source: Kent League (archived)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

Results

Home \ Away	BEC	CRO	DEA	E&B	ERI	FAV	GRE	HER	HOL	HYT	LOR	NOR	SEV	SLA	SPB	TUN	VCD
Beckenham Town		2–0	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–7	0–2	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–1	4–1	3–2	4–3	4–3	2–2	2–4
Croydon	2–1		3–1	2–0	1–3	2–1	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–2	5–2	2–0	3–0	4–1	8–0	0–1	0–0
Deal Town	1–1	2–4		0–1	0–0	0–3	1–2	2–1	0–4	1–0	3–3	4–0	3–0	2–1	4–0	1–3	1–1
Erith & Belvedere	3–2	3–2	1–5		2–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	10–2	0–0	0–1
Erith Town	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–3		0–1	1–2	1–3	0–1	4–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	0–2	6–0	0–0	3–1
Faversham Town	5–1	4–1	4–0	3–2	1–1		1–3	2–1	0–1	1–3	5–1	1–0	1–2	5–2	10–0	2–1	0–2
Greenwich Borough	3–2	0–2	2–1	2–0	3–3	1–2		1–0	1–3	1–1	2–3	0–1	2–1	3–2	4–0	2–1	0–4
Herne Bay	3–0	3–2	1–1	3–2	2–5	1–5	1–2		0–0	2–3	4–0	4–0	2–0	2–1	6–2	4–1	1–1
Holmesdale	3–2	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	0–1	1–1	4–0		3–1	1–0	3–2	2–1	2–2	6–0	3–3	0–1
Hythe Town	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–2	5–1	1–1		7–2	4–1	3–1	3–0	5–0	2–0	0–2
Lordswood	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	1–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	1–0	0–1		0–1	0–1	2–4	4–2	1–2	1–2
Norton Sports	2–1	1–0	1–4	3–4	0–1	2–1	3–5	0–1	2–1	1–4	4–3		2–2	1–2	5–0	3–1	1–2
Sevenoaks Town	2–2	0–1	3–2	1–3	3–3	1–5	4–2	1–3	0–1	3–2	5–1	0–2		1–1	2–1	1–2	0–5
Slade Green	1–3	1–0	2–1	0–4	1–0	1–1	2–3	3–1	0–3	2–5	1–1	0–1	1–2		5–0	1–3	0–2
Sporting Bengal United	1–5	1–3	0–7	1–9	0–7	1–3	2–3	1–3	2–3	1–3	1–5	1–3	0–2	2–5		1–5	1–2
Tunbridge Wells	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–4	1–2	3–1	0–1	0–4	1–0	1–2	4–1	1–1	2–1	1–2	4–0		1–0
VCD Athletic	5–0	1–1	1–0	1–2	3–1	1–0	1–0	2–3	0–1	0–1	4–2	1–0	3–0	4–1	9–0	2–1

Source: Kent League (archived)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Challenge Cup

The 2008–09 Kent Football League Challenge Cup, known as the Bulmers Cider Kent League Cup (reflecting the sponsorship by Bulmers), was won by Croydon.

The competition was contested by the 17 teams from the Premier Division over a total of five rounds: four on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) followed by a final match played on a neutral ground (at Welling United F.C. this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	Croydon		0	2	2
	Herne Bay		0	1	1
								Croydon		4	2	6
								Faversham Town		0	0	0
	Faversham Town		3	0	3
	Holmesdale		2	0	2
															Croydon			1	3p
															Erith Town			1	1p
	Hythe Town		2	4	6
	Slade Green		1	0	1
								Hythe Town		3	1	4
								Erith Town		1	4	5
	Tunbridge Wells		3	0	3
	Erith Town		3	2	5

Second Round

• Hythe Town 14 – 3 Sporting Bengal United (1st Leg 10–1; 2nd Leg 4–2)
• Lordswood 0 – 6 Erith Town (1st Leg 0–3; 2nd Leg 0–3)
• Croydon 4 – 2 Sevenoaks Town (1st Leg 2–0; 2nd Leg 2–2)
• Slade Green 6 – 4 Greenwich Borough (1st Leg 1–2; 2nd Leg 5–2)
• Herne Bay 5 – 0 Norton Sports (1st Leg 1–0; 2nd Leg 4–0)
• Faversham Town 4 – 1 Beckenham Town (1st Leg 1–0; 2nd Leg 3–1)
• Holmesdale 2 – 1 Deal Town (1st Leg 2–0; 2nd Leg 0–1)
• Tunbridge Wells 3 – 2 VCD Athletic (1st Leg 1–1; 2nd Leg 2–1)

First Round

• Erith & Belvedere 6 – 8 Tunbridge Wells (1st Leg 2–2; 2nd Leg 4–6(aet))

Byes for the remaining 15 teams

Source: SCEFL Archives

Reserves Section

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

The 2008–09 Reserves Section comprised two divisions, with promotion and relegation possible between the divisions. Promotion from the Reserves Section into the Premier Division was not permitted. There was a single League Cup competition for all teams in the section.

Division One

Kent Football League Division One

Season	2008–09
Champions	Thamesmead Town R
Matches played	132
Goals scored	405 (3.07 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The division featured twelve clubs, ten of which competed in the previous season together with Dover Athletic R and Ashford Town (Kent) R who had both been promoted from Division Two.

At the end of the season Folkestone Invicta R and Sevenoaks Town R were relegated and Dover Athletic R left the league.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Season End Notes
1	Thamesmead Town R	22	15	0	7	45	25	+20	45
2	Cray Wanderers R	22	13	1	8	46	27	+19	40
3	Dartford R	22	11	4	7	39	26	+13	37
4	Maidstone United R	22	11	3	8	32	22	+10	36
5	Ashford Town (Kent) R	22	11	3	8	36	27	+9	36
6	Margate R	22	10	4	8	34	35	−1	34
7	Erith & Belvedere R	22	10	3	9	30	24	+6	33
8	Dover Athletic R	22	10	2	10	46	45	+1	32	Resigned from the League
9	Whitstable Town R	22	8	3	11	25	33	−8	27
10	Chatham Town R	22	7	5	10	36	43	−7	26
11	Folkestone Invicta R	22	5	2	15	16	47	−31	17	Relegated to Division Two
12	Sevenoaks Town R	22	3	6	13	20	51	−31	15

Source: Kent League: Table (archived) & Kent League: Results Grid (archived)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Home \ Away	ASH	CHA	CRA	DAR	DOV	E&B	FOL	MAI	MAR	SEV	THA	WHI
Ashford Town (Kent) R		1–1	2–0	3–2	3–0	0–2	2–1	0–1	0–0	4–2	2–0	1–2
Chatham Town R	4–2		2–5	1–3	2–2	0–2	6–0	1–5	0–2	2–1	2–4	2–2
Cray Wanderers R	0–3	4–1		0–3	2–3	2–0	1–2	4–0	4–0	2–0	1–4	2–1
Dartford R	3–2	1–2	0–4		2–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	3–0	0–1
Dover Athletic R	4–1	3–1	1–4	3–2		4–3	3–0	0–1	4–3	4–2	0–2	3–1
Erith & Belvedere R	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–0		2–0	0–1	3–1	0–1	3–0	2–0
Folkestone Invicta R	2–1	0–2	0–4	0–3	2–5	2–0		1–0	0–2	2–2	0–3	1–2
Maidstone United R	0–2	0–0	0–1	1–1	4–1	2–4	2–0		1–0	6–0	1–2	1–0
Margate R	2–1	3–2	1–0	1–0	4–2	1–1	2–1	0–2		3–2	2–3	3–0
Sevenoaks Town R	0–3	0–2	0–3	0–0	1–1	1–2	0–0	2–1	2–2		1–4	1–1
Thamesmead Town R	0–1	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–1	3–0	3–1	2–1	3–0	5–0		1–2
Whitstable Town R	0–0	1–3	3–1	2–4	2–1	0–3	0–1	1–1	3–1	0–1	2–0

Source: Kent League (archived)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division Two

Kent Football League Division Two

Season	2008–09
Champions	Holmesdale R
Matches played	110
Goals scored	425 (3.86 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The division featured eleven clubs, nine of which competed in the previous season together with two additional clubs:

• Ramsgate R, relegated from Division One
• Welling United R rejoining the Kent League for a single season after three years absence.

At the end of the season Herne Bay R and Holmedale R were promoted to Division One and Greenwich Borough R, Tunbridge Wells R and Welling United R left the league.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Season End Notes
1	Holmesdale R	20	15	4	1	63	24	+39	49	Promoted to Division One
2	Herne Bay R	20	12	4	4	44	31	+13	40
3	Hythe Town R	20	10	5	5	39	30	+9	35
4	Faversham Town R	20	10	5	5	41	33	+8	35
5	Tunbridge Wells R	20	10	3	7	45	44	+1	33	Resigned from the League
6	Welling United R	20	10	2	8	46	32	+14	32
7	Ramsgate R	20	8	3	9	48	40	+8	27
8	VCD Athletic R	20	5	2	13	22	43	−21	17
9	Deal Town R	20	4	6	10	28	42	−14	15
10	Greenwich Borough R	20	5	1	14	21	41	−20	13	Resigned from the League
11	Lordswood R	20	2	3	15	28	65	−37	9

Source: Kent League (archived)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

Results

Home \ Away	DEA	FAV	GRE	HER	HOL	HYT	LOR	RAM	TUN	VCD	WEL
Deal Town R		0–3	–	2–3	0–2	0–0	2–2	3–5	2–8	4–1	3–2
Faversham Town R	2–2		3–1	2–2	1–4	3–1	2–0	2–2	4–2	2–1	0–3
Greenwich Borough R	–	4–1		1–2	2–4	2–3	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–1	0–3
Herne Bay R	1–1	1–0	5–0		2–3	2–2	4–0	3–2	5–2	3–1	0–2
Holmesdae R	2–2	1–3	3–0	1–1		1–1	3–0	6–3	1–1	2–0	7–0
Hythe Town R	2–1	2–2	3–1	1–2	1–4		2–1	1–0	3–0	3–0	0–2
Lordswood R	3–1	2–5	5–1	1–2	3–6	2–5		1–5	3–4	2–2	2–2
Ramsgate R	1–0	2–2	2–1	6–1	0–3	1–2	5–0		5–1	4–1	3–4
Tunbridge Wells R	2–2	3–0	1–0	1–3	2–4	3–3	2–1	3–1		3–1	2–0
VCD Athletic R	2–1	0–3	1–4	0–1	0–3	0–3	1–0	4–0	2–3		–
Welling United R	1–2	0–1	3–1	3–1	2–3	3–1	10–0	1–1	4–1	1–4

Source: Kent League (archived) & Kent League (archived), (Lordswood R 3–1 Deal R result)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Reserves Cup

The 2008–09 Kent Football League Reserves Cup, Known as the HAUC Reserves League Cup (reflecting the sponsorship by the Highways Agency and Utilities Committee), was won by Thamesmead Town R, who completed a League and Cup double.

The competition was contested by all 23 teams of the Reserves Section over a total of five rounds: the first three were single match knock-out rounds, followed by the semi-finals on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) and then the final match played on a neutral ground (at Folkestone Invicta F.C. this season)

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

	Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Final
	Lordswood R				0
	Herne Bay R				1
								Herne Bay R		1	0	1
								Whitstable Town R		4	1	5
	Folkestone Invicta R				1
	Whitstable Town R				4
															Whitstable Town R				1
															Thamesmead Town R				4
	Dartford R				1
	Maidstone United R				2
								Maidstone United R		1	3	4
								Thamesmead Town R		2	4	6
	Thamesmead Town R				2
	Ashford Town (Kent) R				1

Second Round

• Holmesdale R 2 – 3 Lordswood R
• Dover Athletic R 1 – 2 Folkestone Invicta R
• Welling United R 0 – 1 Ashford Town (Kent) R
• Erith & Belvedere R 0 – 2 Thamesmead Town R
• Sevenoaks Town R 0 – 2 Whitstable Town R
• Dartford R 3 – 1 Ramsgate R
• Margate R 1 – 3 Herne Bay R
• Cray Wanderers R 0 – 2 Maidstone United R

First Round

• Erith & Belvedere R 4 – 1 Deal Town R
• Herne Bay R 3 – 0 Chatham Town R
• Thamesmead Town R 2 – 1 VCD Athletic R
• Welling United R 3 – 0 Hythe Town R
• Holmesdale R 5 – 3 Faversham Town R
• Greenwich Borough R d – W Lordswood R (match score 2-0, Greenwich Borough R disqualified)
• Tunbridge Wells R 0 – 4 (aet) Dartford R

Byes for the remaining nine teams

Source: SCEFL Archives

External links

• Kent Football League (archived)