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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
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Herne Bay |
| Matches played | 420 |
| Goals scored | 1,227 (2.92 per match) |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
The league featured 21 clubs, 19 of which competed in the previous season together with two additional clubs:[1]
- Lordswood, joined from the Kent County League
- Woolwich Town, transferred from the Spartan League
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
| 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 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Challenge Cup
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
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
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
- Lordswood 1 – 3 Sheppey United
- Canterbury City 0 – 0 (aet) Tunbridge Wells
- REPLAY: Tunbridge Wells 5 – 1 Canterbury City
- Hythe United 4 – 0 Corinthian
- Thamesmead Town 1 – 2 Cray Wanderers
- Deal Town 3 – 0 Beckenham Town
- Furness 1 – 1 (aet) Slade Green (score at 90 minutes: 1–1)
- REPLAY: Slade Green 0 – 0 (aet) Furness. Slade Green won 3–0 on penalties.
- Herne Bay 2 – 0 Woolwich Town
- Greenwich Borough 6 – 0 Folkestone Invicta
First Round
- Lordswood 2 – 1 Crockenhill
- Sheppey United 5 – 1 Faversham Town
- Slade Green 1 – 0 (aet) Ramsgate
- Herne Bay 3 – 1 Chatham Town
- Greenwich Borough 1 – 0 Whitstable Town
- Byes for the other 11 clubs
Sources:
- Second Round: "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round". Kent Today. 27 January 1997. p. 39. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Last night's results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round replay". Kent Today. 29 January 1997. p. 31. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- First Round: "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, First Round". Kent Today. 28 October 1996. p. 35. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Reserves Section
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
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Tonbridge AFC R |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,412 (3.72 per match) |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
The division featured 20 clubs, 17 who had competed in the previous season together with three addidtional clubs:[7]
- Dartford R
- Hythe United R
- Lordswood R, joined from the Kent County League Reserves Section
Tonbridge AFC R were the division winners.[8]