1984–85 Kent Football League

The 1984–85 Kent Football League season was the nineteenth 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

Kent Football League Division One
Season1984–85
ChampionsTunbridge Wells
Matches played272
Goals scored909 (3.34 per match)

The league featured seventeen clubs, fifteen of which competed in the previous season together with two additional clubs:

The league was won by Tunbridge Wells, their first league winners title in the reformed Kent League.[3]

At the end of the season both bottom clubs, Crockenhill and Ramsgate were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[4]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Tunbridge Wells 32 22 6 4 83 39 +44 72
2 Hythe Town 32 22 6 4 70 33 +37 72
3 Sittingbourne 32 21 4 7 77 43 +34 66
4 Beckenham Town 32 17 8 7 67 46 +21 59
5 Cray Wanderers 32 17 2 13 59 51 +8 53
6 Greenwich Borough 32 15 6 11 62 49 +13 51
7 Faversham Town 32 13 8 11 44 42 +2 47
8 Darenth Heathside 32 13 7 12 45 43 +2 46
9 Metropolitan Police (Hayes) 32 10 13 9 66 66 0 43
10 Whitstable Town 32 12 4 16 43 44 −1 40
11 Alma Swanley[a] 32 11 7 14 47 49 −2 39[b]
12 Deal Town 32 9 10 13 50 57 −7 37
13 Herne Bay 32 7 8 17 43 57 −14 29
14 Slade Green Athletic 32 7 7 18 35 66 −31 28
15 Kent Police[c] 32 8 3 21 48 88 −40 27
16 Crockenhill 32 6 7 19 34 63 −29 25 Re-elected
17 Ramsgate 32 6 6 20 36 73 −37 24
Source: "Kent League 1966–92: 1984–85". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024. "England – Kent League: Final Table Kent League (Division 1) '84–'85". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Alma Swanley were deducted one point and one goal,[5] the deducted goal has been reinstated in the table
  2. ^ Alma Swanley were deducted one point
  3. ^ Kent Police were deducted two goals,[5] which have been reinstated in the table.

Challenge Cup

The 1984–85 Kent Football League Challenge Cup (named the Winstonlead Kent League Cup for sponsorship reasons)[4] was won by Greenwich Borough in their first season in the league.[6] The competition, contested by all seventeen clubs in the league, comprised five single match tie rounds (with a single tie in the first round) culminating in the final.

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Sittingbourne 1 1[a]
Darenth Heathside 1 3[a]
Darenth Heathside 0
Beckenham Town 2
Beckenham Town 3
Alma Swanley 2
Beckenham Town 2[b]
Greenwich Borough 3[b]
Tunbridge Wells 3
Cray Wanderers 0
Tunbridge Wells 1
Greenwich Borough 2
Kent Police
Greenwich Borough
  1. ^ a b Replay
  2. ^ a b After extra time

Second Round

First Round

Sources:

Reserves Section

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

Kent Football League Division Two
Season1984–85
ChampionsSheppey United R
Matches played271
Goals scored924 (3.41 per match)

The league featured seventeen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare), thirteen of which had competed in the division the previous season together with four additional clubs

The division was won by returnees Sheppey United R[7] who completed a league and cup double.

At the end of the season Hastings United R folded and left the league and both bottom clubs, Deal Town R and Whitstable Town R were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[4]

League Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Sheppey United R 32 23 6 3 77 25 +52 75
2 Ashford Town R 32 19 6 7 61 37 +24 63
3 Erith & Belvedere R 32 19 4 9 61 33 +28 61
4 Fisher Athletic R[a] 31 19 8 4 79 28 +51 56[b]
5 Faversham Town R[c] 32 15 6 11 71 56 +15 51
6 Herne Bay R[d] 31 14 8 9 69 55 +14 50
7 Hythe Town R 32 14 6 12 53 46 +7 48
8 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 32 12 7 13 44 47 −3 43
9 Hastings United R 32 12 6 14 43 53 −10 42 Resigned, club folded
10 Sittingbourne R[e] 32 12 7 13 72 61 +11 40[f]
11 Darenth Heathside R 32 10 9 13 53 47 +6 39
12 Folkestone R 32 10 7 15 51 76 −25 37
13 Chatham Town R 32 8 12 12 41 49 −8 36
14 Thanet United R[g] 32 8 7 17 39 56 −17 31
15 Canterbury City R 32 7 6 19 46 71 −25 27
16 Deal Town R 32 7 5 20 34 87 −53 26 Re-elected
17 Whitstable Town R 32 5 4 23 30 97 −67 19
Source: "Non League Tables for 1984–1985: Kent League Division Two". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Fisher Athletic R were deducted nine points and eleven goals,[8] the deducted goals have been reinstated in the table; match versus Herne Bay R not played
  2. ^ Fisher Athletic R were deducted nine points
  3. ^ Faversham Town R were deducted one goal[8] which has been reinstated in the table
  4. ^ Herne Bay R were deducted one goal[8] which has been reinstated in the table; match versus Fisher Athletic R not played
  5. ^ Sittingbourne R were deducted three points and four goals,[8] the deducted goals have been reinstated in the table
  6. ^ Sittingbourne R were deducted thee points
  7. ^ Thanet United R were deducted three goals[8] which have been reinstated in the table

Division Two Cup

The 1984–85 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won by Sheppey United R,[9] who defeated Fisher Athletic R in the final, and completed a league and cup double.

References

  1. ^ "Greenwich Borough". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Kent County Amateur League 1979–1984: 1983–1984". Non League Matters. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  3. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Deal, Fisher survive expulsion bid". Kentish Express. Ashford. 28 June 1985. p. 45.
  5. ^ a b "Kent League tables: Division One". Whitstable Times. Whitstable. 6 June 1985. p. 17.
  6. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Kent League tables: Division Two". Whitstable Times. Whitstable. 6 June 1985. p. 17.
  9. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.