The 1983–84 Kent Football League season was the eighteenth 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.
From this season the league began awarding three points (increased from two) for winning a match.[1]
Division One[edit]
| Season | 1983–84 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sittingbourne |
| Promoted | Sheppey United |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 774 (3.23 per match) |
← 1982–83 1984–85 → | |
The league featured sixteen clubs which all competed in the previous season.
The league was won by Sittingbourne, who had previously won the title in 1975–76.[2]
At the end of the season second-placed Sheppey United were promoted to the Southern Football League.[3]
League table[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sittingbourne | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 87 | 26 | +61 | 75 | |
| 2 | Sheppey United | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 61 | 28 | +33 | 66 | Promoted to the Southern League Southern Division |
| 3 | Hythe Town | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 56 | |
| 4 | Cray Wanderers | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 40 | +26 | 49 | |
| 5 | Tunbridge Wells | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 43 | |
| 6 | Crockenhill | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 43 | |
| 7 | Herne Bay | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 43 | |
| 8 | Beckenham Town | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 42 | |
| 9 | Deal Town | 30 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 42 | |
| 10 | Faversham Town | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 42 | |
| 11 | Slade Green Athletic | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 37 | |
| 12 | Darenth Heathside | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 35 | |
| 13 | Alma Swanley | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 34 | |
| 14 | Kent Police | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 27 | 63 | −36 | 30 | |
| 15 | Whitstable Town | 30 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 21 | |
| 16 | Ramsgate | 30 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 22 | 94 | −72 | 15 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Challenge Cup[edit]
The 1983–84 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Cray Wanderers, their first Challenge Cup triumph.[4] The competition, contested by all sixteen clubs in the league, comprised four single match tie rounds culminating in the final.
Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final[edit]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Cray Wanderers | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Tunbridge Wells | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Cray Wanderers | 3[b] | |||||||||||||
| Darenth Heathside | 2[b] | |||||||||||||
| Darenth Heathside | 2 | 3[a] | ||||||||||||
| Slade Green Athletic | 2 | 1[a] | ||||||||||||
| Cray Wanderers | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Sheppey United | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Sittingbourne | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Herne Bay | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Sittingbourne | 2[c] | |||||||||||||
| Sheppey United | 6[c] | |||||||||||||
| Sheppey United | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Deal Town | 1 | |||||||||||||
First Round[edit]
- Ramsgate 0 – 3 Cray Wanderers
- Tunbridge Wells 2 – 1 Crockenhill
- Alma Swanley 1 – 3 Darenth Heathside
- Slade Green Athletic 3 – 2 Kent Police
- Sittingbourne 3 – 1 Whitstable Town
- Hythe Town 1 – 2 Herne Bay
- Sheppey United 4 – 2 Beckenham Town
- Deal Town 3 – 3 Faversham Town
- REPLAY: Faversham Town v Deal Town
Sources:
- Final: "Scottish and Minor Leagues: Kent League Cup Final". The Sunday People. 6 May 1984. p. 40. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Semi-finals: "Scottish and Minor Leagues: Kent: League Cup semi-finals". The Sunday People. 11 March 1984. p. 40. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Quarter-finals: "Results Round-up: Kent League: League Cup". Sunday Mirror. 13 November 1983. p. 40. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results Round-up: Kent League: League Cup". Sunday Mirror. 26 February 1984. p. 40. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- First Round: "(Scottish Results): Kent League Cup". Sunday Mirror. 25 September 1983. p. 40. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Cup Shock". Whitstable Times. 30 September 1983. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Reserves Section[edit]
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[edit]
| Season | 1983–84 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Fisher Athletic R |
| Matches played | 210 |
| Goals scored | 700 (3.33 per match) |
← 1982–83 1984–85 → | |
The league featured fifteen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare), fourteen of which had competed in the division the previous season together with Fisher Athletic R.
The division was won by Fisher Athletic R[5] in their first season in the division.
At the end of the season Beckenham Town R and Dover R left the league.
League Table[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fisher Athletic R | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 82 | 23 | +59 | 62 | |
| 2 | Sittingbourne R | 28 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 66 | 38 | +28 | 59 | |
| 3 | Chatham Town R | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 49 | 31 | +18 | 47 | |
| 4 | Hythe Town R | 28 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 67 | 44 | +23 | 46 | |
| 5 | Beckenham Town R | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 44 | Resigned |
| 6 | Hastings United R | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 44 | |
| 7 | Erith & Belvedere R | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 43 | |
| 8 | Ashford Town R | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 43 | |
| 9 | Darenth Heathside R | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 38 | |
| 10 | Faversham Town R | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 57 | −5 | 36 | |
| 11 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 34 | |
| 12 | Dover R | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 32 | Resigned |
| 13 | Folkestone R | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 41 | 56 | −15 | 30 | |
| 14 | Herne Bay R | 28 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 29 | 77 | −48 | 22 | |
| 15 | Whitstable Town R | 28 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 27 | 100 | −73 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Division Two Cup[edit]
The 1983–84 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won for a second successive season by Erith & Belvedere R[6] who defeated Darenth Heatside in the final.
References[edit]
- ^ "Kent League 1966–92: 1983–84". Non League Matters. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Sheppey United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.