# 2001–02 Kent Football League

The 2001–02 Kent Football League season (known as the Bass Brewers Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the 36th in the history of the Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The League structure comprised three divisions: a Premier Division and a Reserves Section comprising two equally ranked geographically based divisions known as Division One North and Division One South – with a play-off between the winners of these two divisions to decide the Division One champion. Reserve teams were not permitted in the Premier Division. Additionally, there were two league cup competitions: the Challenge Cup for the Premier Division clubs and another for the teams in the Reserves Section.

## Premier Division

The league featured 16 clubs, 15 of which competed in the previous season, along with one additional club:
* Maidstone United, joined from the Kent County League
Also, Hythe United changed its name to Hythe Town.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Maidstone United | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 32 | +40 | 66 |
| 2 | VCD Athletic | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 67 | 31 | +36 | 66 |
| 3 | Deal Town | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 79 | 38 | +41 | 62 |
| 4 | Thamesmead Town | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 59 | 39 | +20 | 57 |
| 5 | Cray Wanderers | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 51 |
| 6 | Ramsgate | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 57 | 50 | +7 | 44 |
| 7 | Herne Bay | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 41 |
| 8 | Tunbridge Wells | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 40 |
| 9 | Beckenham Town | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 40 |
| 10 | Whitstable Town | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 51 | −8 | 36 |
| 11 | Lordswood | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 36 |
| 12 | Slade Green | 30 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 35 |
| 13 | Erith Town | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 33 |
| 14 | Hythe Town | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 31 | 49 | −18 | 31 |
| 15 | Greenwich Borough | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 19 |
| 16 | Faversham Town | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 30 | 81 | −51 | 15 |
* ↑ Herne Bay were deducted three points.
* ↑ Lordswood were awarded three points.

### Challenge Cup

The 2001–02 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Maidstone United, which completed the League and Cup double.
The competition was contested by the 16 teams from the Premier Division over four rounds: the first two were a single-match knockout, 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. this season).

#### Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | Greenwich Borough | 0 | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | 2 | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | 1 | | | | | | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 2 |
| Lordswood | Lordswood | Lordswood | Lordswood | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 2 |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 4 | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | |
| Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | 0 | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | |
| Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |

#### First Round

* Herne Bay 1 – 2 Whitstable Town
* Slade Green 2 – 2 (aet) Greenwich Borough
* REPLAY: Greenwich Borough v Slade Green
* Cray Wanderers 1 – 0 Ramsgate
* Erith Town 2 – 3 (aet) Hythe Town (score at 90 mins: 2–2)
* Lordswood 3 – 2 Tunbridge Wells
* Faversham Town v VCD Athletic
* Deal Town 3 – 4 Beckenham Town
* Thamesmead Town 0 – 1 Maidstone United
Sources: Non-League Football in Kent: Premier Division Cup (archived)

## Reserves Section

The letter "R" following team names indicates a club's reserves team.
The 2001–02 Reserves Section comprised two equal-ranked geographically based divisions, Division One North and Division One South, which had been formed from the single division of the previous season. The top club in each division played a single match to decide the Division One Champion. Promotion from the Reserves Section into the Premier Division was not permitted. There was a single League Cup competition for the teams in the section.

### Division One Champion Play-off

Dover Athletic R were the Division One champions. They won the single play-off match, played at Ashford Town (Kent) F.C. between the top team from each of the Division One North and Division One South:
* Dartford R 1 – 3 (aet) Dover Athletic R, score at 90 mins 1–1.

### Division One North

The division featured 11 clubs, 10 of which had competed in the single Division One from the previous season, together with one additional club:
* Chatham Town R
At the end of the season, Greenwich Borough R resigned from the league.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Dartford R | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 43 | |
| 2 | Cray Wanderers R | 20 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 42 | |
| 3 | VCD Athletic R | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 50 | 29 | +21 | 41 | |
| 4 | Chatham Town R | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 33 | |
| 5 | Thamesmead Town R | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 33 | |
| 6 | Swanley Furness | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 27 | |
| 7 | Erith Town R | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 25 | |
| 8 | Beckenham Town R | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 24 | |
| 9 | Tunbridge Wells R | 20 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 35 | 45 | −10 | 20 | |
| 10 | Lordswood R | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 14 | |
| 11 | Greenwich Borough R | 20 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 23 | 67 | −44 | 10 | Resigned from the league |
* ↑ Cray Wanderers R were deducted three points
* ↑ Beckenham Town R were awarded three points

### Division One South

The division featured 11 clubs, 10 of which had competed in the single Division One from the previous season, together with one additional club:
* Deal Town R
Also, Hythe United R changed its name to Hythe Town R.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Dover Athletic R | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 76 | 18 | +58 | 53 |
| 2 | Ramsgate R | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 52 | 25 | +27 | 35 |
| 3 | Sittingbourne R | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 34 |
| 4 | Deal Town R | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 59 | 42 | +17 | 33 |
| 5 | Ashford Town (Kent) R | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 30 |
| 6 | Folkestone Invicta R | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 28 |
| 7 | Herne Bay R | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 27 |
| 8 | Hastings Town R | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 23 |
| 9 | Margate R | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 22 |
| 10 | Whitstable Town R | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 32 | 59 | −27 | 20 |
| 11 | Hythe Town R | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 85 | −73 | 5 |
* ↑ Dover Athletic R were awarded two points
* ↑ Hythe Town R were deducted one point

### Reserves Cup

The 2001–02 Kent Football League Reserves Cup competition for teams from the Reserves Section was contested over a total of five rounds: the first two were on an aggregate home and away basis; the third round, the quarter-finals a single match; the semis finals again on an aggregate basis; and a single final match which was played on a neutral ground.
The Cup was won by Dover Athletic R who completed the League and Cup double. Their matches were:
* Final: Defeated Thamesmead Town R
* Semi-final: Defeated VCD Athletic R 6 – 3 on aggregate (a:2–1; h:4–2)
* Quarter-final: Won 4–2 at Margate R
* Second Round: Defeated Whitstable Town R 6 – 2 on aggregate (a:2–0; h:4–2)
* First Round: Bye