The1985–86 Kent Football League season (known as theWinstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth in the history of theKent Football League, afootball competition featuring teams based in and around the county ofKent 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.
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Alma Swanley |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 923 (3.02 per match) |
1986–87 → | |
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, byAlma Swanley.[2]
At the end of the season both bottom clubs,Slade Green Athletic andDeal Town were re-elected to continue their membership of the division.[3]
| 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 |
The 1985–86Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won byTunbridge Wells, their third win following two occasions 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 (atSittingbourne F.C.[5] this season).
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
Sources:
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.
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fisher Athletic R |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 1,015 (3.32 per match) |
1986–87 → | |
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 byFisher Athletic R[7] who pippedSheppey United R to the top position by goal difference only.
After the end of the season bothCanterbury City R andChatham Town R resigned from the division.[3]
| 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 |
The 1985–86Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won byFaversham 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 (atRamsgate F.C.[9] this season).
Sources: