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1996–97 Kent Football League

The 1996–97 Kent Football League season (known as the Winstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the 31st in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition 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

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Kent Football League Division One
Season1996–97
ChampionsHerne Bay
Matches played420
Goals scored1,227 (2.92 per match)

The league featured 21 clubs, 19 of which competed in the previous season together with two additional clubs:[1]

The league was won for the third time during the 1990s[2][3] by Herne Bay,[4] who recorded a League and Cup double.

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Herne Bay 40 23 11 6 73 35 +38 80
2 Ramsgate 40 24 5 11 82 47 +35 77
3 Furness 40 23 8 9 66 38 +28 77
4 Sheppey United 40 22 7 11 74 47 +27 73
5 Deal Town 40 20 5 15 80 56 +24 65
6 Folkestone Invicta 40 19 7 14 66 57 +9 64
7 Whitstable Town 40 17 12 11 61 44 +17 63
8 Chatham Town 40 16 11 13 60 52 +8 59
9 Greenwich Borough 40 16 10 14 71 62 +9 58
10 Faversham Town 40 16 9 15 58 73 −15 57
11 Beckenham Town 40 15 10 15 49 47 +2 55
12 Canterbury City 40 15 10 15 47 55 −8 55
13 Hythe United 40 15 8 17 70 76 −6 53
14 Thamesmead Town 40 15 8 17 53 61 −8 53
15 Lordswood 40 14 8 18 57 72 −15 50
16 Slade Green 40 12 9 19 45 50 −5 45
17 Woolwich Town 40 10 13 17 40 62 −22 43
18 Cray Wanderers 40 11 6 23 43 66 −23 39
19 Crockenhill 40 9 11 20 51 80 −29 38
20 Tunbridge Wells 40 8 10 22 44 76 −32 34
21 Corinthian 40 8 6 26 37 71 −34 30
Source: FCHD nonleaguematters
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Challenge Cup

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The 1996–97 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won for the first time in their history by Herne Bay,[5] who completed a League and Cup double.

The competition was contested by the 21 teams from the Division One over five rounds: the first three were a single match knock-out followed by the semi-finals on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) and the final match played on a neutral ground (at Folkestone Invicta F.C.[6] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
               
Sheppey United 4
Tunbridge Wells 1
Sheppey United 1 1[c] 2
Cray Wanderers 0 1[c] 1
Hythe United 0
Cray Wanderers 2
Sheppey United 1
Herne Bay 3
Deal Town 0[a] 1[b]
Slade Green 0[a] 2[b]
Slade Green 2 0[d] 2
Herne Bay 1 3[d] 4
Herne Bay 2
Greenwich Borough 0
  1. ^ a b After extra time
  2. ^ a b Replay
  3. ^ a b After extra time, score at 90 minutes 0–1 to Cray Wanderers
  4. ^ a b After extra time, score at 90 minutes 0–1 to Herne Bay

Sources

  • Quarter-finals: "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, quarter finals". Kent Today. 17 February 1997. p. 35. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Last night's results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, quarter-final replay". Kent Today. 19 February 1997. p. 31. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  • Semi-finals: "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, semi final, first leg". Kent Today. 24 March 1997. p. 43. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, semi-final, second leg". Kent Today. 1 April 1997. p. 39. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  • Final: "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Results: Saturday: Winstonlead Kent League, Division 1 Cup final". Kent Today. 6 May 1997. p. 35. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Second Round

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First Round

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Sources:

Reserves Section

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

The 1996–97 Division Two featured reserves teams (which were not permitted in Division One) of 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

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Kent Football League Division Two
Season1996–97
ChampionsTonbridge AFC R
Matches played380
Goals scored1,412 (3.72 per match)

The division featured 20 clubs, 17 who had competed in the previous season together with three addidtional clubs:[7]

Tonbridge AFC R were the division winners.[8]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Tonbridge AFC R 38 28 6 4 103 41 +62 90
2 Dartford R 38 26 6 6 100 46 +54 81[a]
3 Sittingbourne R 38 24 7 7 108 57 +51 76[b]
4 Furness R 38 22 7 9 73 38 +35 73
5 Hythe United R 38 18 9 11 76 60 +16 63
6 Deal Town R 38 18 6 14 80 53 +27 60
7 Herne Bay R 38 18 6 14 63 54 +9 60
8 Dover Athletic R 38 18 6 14 62 66 −4 60
9 Lordswood R 38 18 4 16 77 69 +8 58
10 Margate R 38 16 8 14 64 66 −2 53[c]
11 Hastings Town R 38 13 10 15 80 80 0 49
12 Crockenhill R 38 15 4 19 67 82 −15 49
13 Thamesmead Town R 38 13 9 16 59 65 −6 45[d]
14 Ramsgate R 38 11 11 16 72 90 −18 44
15 Whitstable Town R 38 10 9 19 56 68 −12 39
16 Chatham Town R 38 11 8 19 39 72 −33 38[e]
17 Beckenham Town R 38 11 5 22 61 97 −36 38
18 Folkestone Invicta R 38 9 6 23 48 100 −52 33
19 Corinthian R 38 6 6 26 49 87 −38 24
20 Faversham Town R 38 6 5 27 75 121 −46 23
Source: "Winstonlead Kent League: Division 2". Kent Messenger. 16 May 1997. p. 58. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Dartford AFC R were deducted three points
  2. ^ Sittingbourne R were deducted three points
  3. ^ Margate R were deducted three points
  4. ^ Thamesmead Town R were deducted three points
  5. ^ Chatham Town R were deducted three points

Division Two Cup

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The 1996–97 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won by East Sussex club Hastings Town R.[9]

The competition for the 20 teams from Division Two comprised five rounds: the first three were a single match knock-out followed by the semi-finals on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) and a single match final on a neutral ground (at Dover Athletic F.C.[10] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
               
Whitstable Town R 1
Margate R 2
Margate R 1 1 2
Deal Town R 4 0 4
Herne Bay R 1
Deal Town R 2
Deal Town R 0
Hastings Town R 1
Crockenhill R 0
Hastings Town R 4
Hastings Town R 1 6 7
Furness R 1 2 3
Tonbridge AFC R 1[a]
Furness R 3[a]
  1. ^ a b After extra time, score at 90 minutes: 0–0

Sources:

Second Round

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First Round

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Sources:

References

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  1. ^ "Struggling Faversham re-elected to league". Kentish Gazette. Aylesford. 13 June 1996. p. 55.
  2. ^ "Herne Bay F.C. – New history". Herne Bay F.C. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Herne Bay at FCHD". FCHD. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  5. ^ "League Cup Winners since 1923". SCEFL. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  6. ^ "The Sporting Week ahead: Saturday: Soccer: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup final". Kent Today. Aylesford. 28 April 1997. p. 31.
  7. ^ "Struggling Faversham re-elected to league". Kentish Gazette. Aylesford. 13 June 1996. p. 55.
  8. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ "The Sporting Week ahead: Saturday: Soccer: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 2 Cup final". Kent Today. Aylesford. 14 April 1997. p. 35.
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