1971–72 Kent Football League

Kent Football League
Season	1971–72
Champions	Chatham Town
Matches played	378
Goals scored	1,324 (3.5 per match)
	← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 Kent Football League season was the sixth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition 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

The league featured teams from 20 clubs, including ten reserves teams. Seventeen of the clubs had competed in the league the previous season and they were joined by three additional clubs:

Dartford Reserves^[1]
Dover Reserves^[1]
Deal Town joined from the Greater London League and replaced their reserves team^[2]

The league was won by Chatham Town,^[3] who completed a League and Cup double.

At the end of the season Dartford Reserves resigned^[4] Both bottom two clubs, Sheppey United Reserves and Ramsgate Athletic Reserves, were re-elected back into the league.^[4] with the former being replaced by their first team.^[5]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Season End Notes
1	Chatham Town	38	25	11	2	113	35	3.229	61
2	Brett Sports	38	26	6	6	90	37	2.432	58
3	Tonbridge Reserves	38	23	9	6	93	59	1.576	55
4	Sittingbourne	38	18	11	9	72	51	1.412	47
5	Kent Police	38	18	10	10	90	56	1.607	46
6	Deal Town	38	16	11	11	92	60	1.533	43
7	Dartford Amateurs^[a]	37	15	13	9	57	48	1.188	43
8	Slade Green Athletic	38	16	9	13	50	37	1.351	41
9	Ashford Town Reserves	38	14	11	13	70	79	0.886	39
10	Dover Reserves^[b]	37	13	12	12	51	41	1.244	38
11	Dartford Reserves	38	12	13	13	62	67	0.925	37	Resigned from the league
12	Crockenhill	38	13	6	19	56	71	0.789	32
13	Bexley United Reserves	38	11	9	18	58	77	0.753	31
14	Folkestone Reserves^[b]	37	10	11	16	59	80	0.738	31
15	Hastings United Reserves	38	10	10	18	51	86	0.593	30
16	Margate Reserves	38	11	7	20	60	95	0.632	29
17	Tunbridge Wells	38	6	15	17	51	73	0.699	27
18	Whitstable Town	38	10	6	22	55	88	0.625	26
19	Sheppey United Reserves	38	8	7	23	45	87	0.517	23	Re-elected (replaced by first team)
20	Ramsgate Athletic Reserves^[a]	37	6	7	24	49	97	0.505	19	Re-elected

Source: "Soccer Tables: Kent League". Evening Post. 10 May 1972. p. 19. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; with additional games: "Kent League 1966–1992: 1971–1972". nonleaguematters. Retrieved 29 March 2024.; "Below-par Reserves fail at Slade Green; Draw follows lively start". Sheerness Times Guardian. 12 May 1972. p. 9. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Rash tackle costs Town the match". Whitstable Herald. 12 May 1972. p. 4. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Sports Summary: Soccer: Kent League". Daily Mirror. 11 May 1972. p. 27. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County details: Results: Saturday: Kent League; Monday:Kent League; Tuesday:Kent League". Kentish Express. 19 May 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results: Kent League". Daily Mirror. 18 May 1972. p. 31. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Sports Summary: Soccer: Kent League". Daily Mirror. 19 May 1972. p. 31. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County details: Results: Saturday: Kent League; Tuesday: Kent League". Kentish Express. 26 May 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Champions – Officially". Evening Post. 25 May 1972. p. 28. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Champs are held". Evening Post. 30 May 1972. p. 23. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average.

^ ^a ^b Missing Ramsgate Athletic Reserves versus Dartford Amateurs
^ ^a ^b Missing Dover Reserves versus Folkestone Reserves

Challenge Cup

The 1971–72 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Chatham Town,^[6] who completed a League and Cup double.

The competition, contested by all twenty clubs in the league, comprised five single match tie rounds culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Sittingbourne F.C.^[7] this season).

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

Tonbridge Reserves	0

Slade Green Athletic	1
		Slade Green Athletic	0

		Chatham Town	4
Chatham Town	1

Sittingbourne	0
				Chatham Town	3

				Ashford Town Reserves	0
Hastings United Reserves	0

Ashford Town Reserves	3
		Ashford Town Reserves	3

		Bexley United Reserves	2
Bexley United Reserves	3

Brett Sports	1

Second Round

Tonbridge Reserves 3 – 2 Sheppey United Reserves
Slade Green Athletic 1 – 0 Margate Reserves
Dover Reserves 0 – 0 Chatham Town
REPLAY 1: Chatham Town 1 – 1 (aet) Dover Reserves
REPLAY 2: Dover Reserves 1 – 2 (aet) Chatham Town (score at 90 minutes 1–1)
Sittingbourne 2 – 0 Deal Town
Crockenhill 1 – 3 Hastings United Reserves
Dartford Amateurs 2 – 2 Ashford Town Reserves
REPLAY: Ashford Town Reserves 2 – 1 Dartford Amateurs
Bexley United Reserves 2 – 1 Kent Police
Brett Sports 6 – 2 Dartford Reserves

First Round

Whitstable Town 0 – 4 Dover Reserves
Tunbridge Wells 0 – 1 Dartford Amateurs
Folkestone Reserves 1 – 2 Bexley United Reserves
Dartford Reserves 4 – 0 Ramsgate Athletic Reserves
Byes for the other twelve clubs

Sources

Final: "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup Final". Kentish Express. 19 May 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Semi-finals: "County Details: Results: Good Friday: Kent League, League Cup, Semi-final". Kent Messenger. 7 April 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup, Semi-final". Kent Messenger. 7 April 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Quarter-finals: "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League Cup 3rd round". Kent Messenger. 10 March 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.;"County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup, 3rd round". Kent Messenger. 24 March 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
Second Round: "Kent League: Results: League Cup 2nd Round". Sheerness Times Guardian. 10 December 1971. p. 9. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results: Kent League Cup (first round) (sic)". Thanet Times. 14 December 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Super Gorham". Kentish Express. 17 December 1971. p. 22. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results: Kent League Cup". Thanet Times. 4 January 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; Phillips, Terry (31 January 1972). "Driver goal clinches it". Evening Post. p. 17. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League Cup 2nd round". Kent Messenger. 10 March 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
First Round: "County Details: Results: Saturday: League Cup 1st round". Kent Messenger. 19 November 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

References

^ ^a ^b "Chatham Town have a £1,900 smile". Evening Post. Chatham. 30 June 1971. p. 24.
^ "Deal". Kentish Express. Ashford. 11 June 1971. p. 12.
^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Re-elected". East Kent Times. Ramsgate. 19 July 1972. p. 16.
^ "Sheppey plans". Thanet Times. Margate. 6 June 1972. p. 16.
^ "League Cup Winners since 1923". SCEFL. February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "League Chatter: Kent League: Fixtures: League Cup Final". Sheerness Times-Guardian. Sheerness. 5 May 1972. p. 9.

External links

[RD-6] Missing Ramsgate Athletic Reserves versus Dartford Amateurs

[DF-7] Missing Dover Reserves versus Folkestone Reserves

[CS-1] "Chatham Town have a £1,900 smile". Evening Post. Chatham. 30 June 1971. p. 24.

[2] "Deal". Kentish Express. Ashford. 11 June 1971. p. 12.

[3] "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[ree-4] "Re-elected". East Kent Times. Ramsgate. 19 July 1972. p. 16.

[5] "Sheppey plans". Thanet Times. Margate. 6 June 1972. p. 16.

[8] "League Cup Winners since 1923". SCEFL. February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[9] "League Chatter: Kent League: Fixtures: League Cup Final". Sheerness Times-Guardian. Sheerness. 5 May 1972. p. 9.

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