The1981–82 Kent Football League season was the sixteenth 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 | 1981–82 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Erith & Belvedere |
| Promoted | Erith & Belvedere |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 733 (3.05 per match) |
1982–83 → | |
The league featured sixteen clubs which had all competed in the previous season.
The league was won byErith & Belvedere,[1] who left the league following their election to theSouthern League.[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erith & Belvedere | 30 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 44 | Elected to theSouthern League Southern Division |
| 2 | Sittingbourne | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 63 | 33 | +30 | 43 | |
| 3 | Chatham Town | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 41 | |
| 4 | Sheppey United | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 60 | 40 | +20 | 37 | |
| 5 | Crockenhill | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 54 | 41 | +13 | 35 | |
| 6 | Slade Green Athletic | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 35 | |
| 7 | Whitstable Town | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 34 | |
| 8 | Cray Wanderers | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 32 | |
| 9 | Deal Town | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 32 | |
| 10 | Ramsgate | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 27 | |
| 11 | Hythe Town | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 27 | |
| 12 | Darenth Heathside | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 24 | |
| 13 | Tunbridge Wells | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 22 | |
| 14 | Herne Bay | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 20 | |
| 15 | Faversham Town | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 16 | |
| 16 | Kent Police | 30 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 35 | 98 | −63 | 11 |
The 1981–82Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won byDeal Town.[3]
The competition, contested by all sixteen clubs in the league, comprised four single match tie rounds culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (atSittingbourne F.C.[4] this season).
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 | 1981–82 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Maidstone United R |
| Matches | 272 |
| Goals | 991 (3.64 per match) |
1982–83 → | |
The league featured seventeen clubs (including one non-reserve team,Snowdown Colliery Welfare) who had all competed in the division the previous season.
The division was won byMaidstone United R,[5] part of a Division Two league and cup double.
At the end of the seasonDeal Town R resigned from the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maidstone United R | 32 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 123 | 32 | +91 | 57 | |
| 2 | Dover R | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 42 | |
| 3 | Welling United R | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 88 | 42 | +46 | 41 | |
| 4 | Chatham Town R | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 69 | 42 | +27 | 40 | |
| 5 | Dartford R | 32 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 39 | |
| 6 | Sittingbourne R | 32 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 64 | 45 | +19 | 38 | |
| 7 | Erith & Belvedere R | 32 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 37 | |
| 8 | Hastings United R | 32 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 34 | |
| 9 | Herne Bay R | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 33 | |
| 10 | Sheppey United R | 32 | 14 | 3 | 15 | 60 | 67 | −7 | 31 | |
| 11 | Folkestone R | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 66 | 66 | 0 | 29 | |
| 12 | Darenth Heathside R | 32 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 44 | 62 | −18 | 24 | |
| 13 | Hythe Town R | 32 | 10 | 3 | 19 | 42 | 71 | −29 | 23 | |
| 14 | Ashford Town R | 32 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 22 | |
| 15 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 32 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 41 | 92 | −51 | 21 | |
| 16 | Whitstable Town R | 32 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 35 | 76 | −41 | 20 | Re-elected |
| 17 | Deal Town R | 32 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 37 | 106 | −69 | 13 | Resigned |
The 1981–82Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won byMaidstone United R,[6] part of a Division Two league and cup double.
The competition was contested by all seventeen clubs in the division and comprised five single match tie rounds (with a single tie in the first round) culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (atChatham Town F.C.[7] this season).
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Folkestone R | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Dartford R | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Folkestone R | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Dover R | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Sheppey United R | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Dover R | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Dover R | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Maidstone United R | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Maidstone United R | ||||||||||||||
| Chatham Town R | ||||||||||||||
| Maidstone United R | ||||||||||||||
| (Quarter-final match 4 winner) | ||||||||||||||
| Welling United R | ||||||||||||||
| Winner ofAshford Town R vHastings United R | ||||||||||||||
Sources: