1977–78 Kent Football League

The 1977–78 Kent Football League season was the twelfth 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 comprised one division and there was also a league cup competition, the Challenge Cup.

League table

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Kent Football League
Season1977–78
ChampionsFaversham Town
Matches played306
Goals scored972 (3.18 per match)

The league featured teams from eighteen clubs, including three reserves teams. Seventeen of the clubs competed in the previous season and they were joined by Hythe Town from the Kent County Amateur League.[1]

The league was won by Faversham Town, they had been champions seven seasons previously.[2]

At the end of the season, following the decision taken in August 1977 to form a Second Division for reserve sides with Division One for 'first teams' only,[3] Dover Reserves, Folkestone & Shepway Reserves and Maidstone United Reserves moved to a newly formed Division Two. The two lowest ranked non-reserve clubs, Slade Green Athletic and Kent Police, were re-elected to continue their membership of the league which was now named Division One.[4]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Faversham Town 34 23 8 3 83 24 +59 54
2 Sheppey United 34 24 5 5 87 32 +55 53
3 Tunbridge Wells 34 21 10 3 84 36 +48 52
4 Hythe Town 34 19 6 9 73 57 +16 44
5 Maidstone United Reserves 34 18 6 10 46 39 +7 42 Moved to Division Two
6 Crockenhill 34 15 8 11 62 46 +16 38
7 Dartford Glentworth 34 15 8 11 59 45 +14 38
8 Medway 34 15 8 11 55 49 +6 38
9 Ramsgate 34 12 13 9 54 51 +3 37
10 Deal Town 34 13 7 14 47 53 −6 33
11 Whitstable Town 34 13 6 15 52 43 +9 32
12 Herne Bay 34 10 9 15 43 72 −29 29
13 Sittingbourne 34 8 9 17 37 60 −23 25
14 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 34 8 6 20 44 76 −32 22
15 Slade Green Athletic 34 4 12 18 40 60 −20 20 Re-elected
16 Folkestone & Shepway Reserves 34 6 7 21 37 61 −24 19 Moved to Division Two
17 Kent Police 34 6 6 22 34 81 −47 18 Re-elected
18 Dover Reserves 34 9 0 25 35 87 −52 18 Moved to Division Two
Source: "How it all finished: Kent League". Kent Messenger. 19 May 1978. p. 75. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "(column 1) Kent League: Final Table". East Kent Times. 24 May 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Challenge Cup

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The 1977–78 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Tunbridge Wells, their second win in four seasons.[5]

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

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Whitstable Town 3
Sittingbourne 1
Whitstable Town 0
Sheppey United 1
Sheppey United 3
Hythe Town 1
Sheppey United 0
Tunbridge Wells 1
Snowdown Colliery Welfare 0
Dartford Glentworth 3
Dartford Glentworth 0
Tunbridge Wells 1
Medway 2
Tunbridge Wells 6

Second Round

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First Round

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Sources:

References

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  1. ^ Carpenter, Gordon (20 June 1977). "Reserves are given the boot". Evening Post. Chatham. p. 20.
  2. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Clubs in Favour of Division 2". Whitstable Times. Whitstable. 26 August 1977. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Police get a reprieve". Mid-Kent Gazette. Larkfield, Maidstone. 4 July 1978. p. 72.
  5. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Going to a game? Saturday: Kent League Cup Final". The Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 28 April 1978. p. 32.