1988–89 Kent Football League Explained

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The 1988–89 Kent Football League season (known as the Winstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the twenty-third 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

Competition:Kent Football League Division One
Season:1988–89
Winners:Hythe Town
Matches:380
Total Goals:1225
Prevseason:1987–88
Nextseason:1989–90

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

The league was won, for the first occasion by Hythe Town[2] - whose reserves team completed a Division Two league and cup double.

At the end of the season champions Hythe Town were promoted to the Southern League Southern Division[3] and both bottom clubs, Chatham Town and Herne Bay, were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[4]

League table

Challenge Cup

The 1988–89 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won, for the only occasion in their history, by Alma Swanley.[5]

The competition, contested by all twenty clubs in Division One, comprised five single match tie rounds (with the first round featuring four ties) culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Sittingbourne F.C.[6] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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

Competition:Kent Football League Division Two
Season:1988–89
Winners:Hythe Town R
Matches:342
Total Goals:1209
Prevseason:1987–88
Nextseason:1989–90

The league featured nineteen clubs including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare for their final season in the league; sixteen of the clubs had competed in the division the previous season together with three additional clubs:[1]

The division was won by a resurgent Hythe Town R[7] - who had been re-elected to the league after ending the previous season in the bottom two – part of a league and cup double.

At the end of the season: Chatham Town R, Deal Town R and champions Hythe Town R withdrew from the division; Snowdown Colliery Welfare, who were founder members of the league in 1966, had their registration cancelled by the League as the club no longer held the league requirement of Senior status - the Kent County FA had, owing to the club's long spell of ten seasons in Division Two, ruled the club of Intermediate status;[4] bottom club Herne Bay were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[8]

League table

Division Two Cup

The 1988–89 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won by Hythe Town R[9] part of a league and cup double.

The competition, contested by all nineteen clubs in the division, comprised five single match tie rounds (with the first round featuring three ties) culminating in the final (played at Hythe Town F.C.).[10] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

Second Round

First Round

Sources:

Notes and References

  1. News: 23 June 1988 . Tony . Hudd . 80 . Clubs in danger of being cut off . Kentish Express . Ashford.
  2. Web site: First Division past winners / runners-up . kentleague.com . 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130417042108/http://kentleague.com/Archives/top-first%20div%20winners.php . 17 April 2013 . 29 March 2024.
  3. News: 25 May 1989 . 80 . Hythe make the grade . Kentish Express . Ashford.
  4. News: 15 June 1989 . Mike . Rees . 46 . Kent League is hit by team withdrawals . Sheerness Times Guardian . Larkfield, Maidstone.
  5. Web site: Archives: League Cup Winners . February 2022 . SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. 31 January 2024.
  6. News: 27 April 1989 . Soccer Results and Fixtures: Fixtures: Saturday: Winstonlead Cup final . Kentish Express . 86 . Ashford.
  7. Web site: Reserves First Division winners / runners-up . kentleague.com . 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130418065959/http://kentleague.com/Archives/Reserves%20First%20Div%20winners.php . 18 April 2013 . 26 April 2024.
  8. News: 15 June 1989 . 80 . Soccer . Kentish Express . Ashford.
  9. Web site: Reserves Division(s) League Cup . kentleague.com . 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130418091817/http://kentleague.com/Archives/League%20cups/Reserves%20Cup%20ex%20winners.php . 18 April 2013 . 29 March 2024.
  10. News: 21 April 1989 . Local Football Results & Fixtures: Fixtures: Saturday: Winstonlead Kent League Division Two Cup Final . Folkestone Herald . 78 . Folkestone.

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