# 1998–99 Kent Football League

The 1998–99 Kent Football League season (known as the Winstonlead Kent League for sponsorship reasons) was the 33rd in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The League structure comprised two divisions: a Premier Division together with a Reserves Section league, Division One. The two divisions had been renamed respectively from Division One and Division Two of the previous season. Reserves 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.
From this season onwards the grounds where Premier Division matches were played were required to have floodlights.

## Premier Division

The league featured 19 clubs which had competed in the previous season, no additional clubs joined the league this season.
The league was won by Ramsgate for the second season in succession.
At the end of the season Crockenhill resigned and joined the Kent County League.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Ramsgate | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 93 | 24 | +69 | 83 | |
| 2 | Deal Town | 36 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 78 | 24 | +54 | 81 | |
| 3 | Greenwich Borough | 36 | 24 | 4 | 8 | 64 | 28 | +36 | 76 | |
| 4 | Thamesmead Town | 36 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 57 | 19 | +38 | 74 | |
| 5 | Crockenhill | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 38 | +24 | 66 | Resigned to the Kent County League |
| 6 | Chatham Town | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 65 | |
| 7 | VCD Athletic | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 57 | |
| 8 | Whitstable Town | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 54 | |
| 9 | Beckenham Town | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 50 | |
| 10 | Slade Green | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 44 | |
| 11 | Sheppey United | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 50 | 59 | −9 | 44 | |
| 12 | Herne Bay | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 51 | −17 | 36 | |
| 13 | Lordswood | 36 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 47 | 71 | −24 | 36 | |
| 14 | Cray Wanderers | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 35 | |
| 15 | Canterbury City | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 34 | 73 | −39 | 35 | |
| 16 | Faversham Town | 36 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 41 | 80 | −39 | 29 | |
| 17 | Erith Town | 36 | 8 | 5 | 23 | 33 | 79 | −46 | 29 | |
| 18 | Hythe United | 36 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 38 | 65 | −27 | 28 | |
| 19 | Tunbridge Wells | 36 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 46 | 105 | −59 | 23 | |
* ↑ Crockenhill were deducted one point.
* ↑ Sheppey United were awarded three points for match of 26 September 1998 lost 1–2 versus Faversham Town, who fielded an ineligible player.
* ↑ Cray Wanderers were awarded two points.
* ↑ Faversham Town were deducted the three points gained from match of 26 September 1998 won 2–1 versus Sheppey United, for fielding an ineligible player.

### Challenge Cup

The 1998–99 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Deal Town.
The competition was contested by the 19 teams from the Premier Division over five rounds: the first three were a single match knock-out followed by the semis-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 |
| Chatham Town | Chatham Town | Chatham Town | Chatham Town | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | 2 | Deal Town | Deal Town | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | Cray Wanderers | 0 | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| Ramsgate | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ramsgate | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | Ramsgate | 1 | | | | | | Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | Deal Town | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 |
| Herne Bay | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 4 | | | | | | | | | | |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 4 | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Crockenhill | Crockenhill | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| Crockenhill | Crockenhill | Crockenhill | Crockenhill | 2 | Crockenhill | Crockenhill | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| Hythe United | Hythe United | Hythe United | Hythe United | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
* ↑ VCD Athletic won on away goal
Sources:
* Quarter-finals: "Senior Soccer details: Results: Saturday: Winstonlead Kent League, Premier Division Cup, third round". Kent Messenger. 29 January 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Senior Soccer details: Results: Wednesday: Winstonlead Kent League, Premier Division Cup". Kent Messenger. 29 January 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Semi-finals: "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, March 20: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup; Semi-Finals, First Leg". Dover Express. 25 March 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, March 27: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup; Semi-Finals, Second Leg". Dover Express. 1 April 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Final: "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, May 1: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup Final". Dover Express. 6 May 1999. p. 67. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

#### Second Round

* Chatham Town 2 – 0 Slade Green
* Beckenham Town 2 – 3 Deal Town
* Cray Wanderers 1 – 0 Lordswood
* Whitstable Town 0 – 2 Ramsgate
* Herne Bay 1 – 0 Tunbridge Wells
* Canterbury City 1 – 3 VCD Athletic
* Erith Town 0 – 2 Crockenhill
* Faversham Town 2 – 2 Hythe United (match abandoned after 84 minutes owing to floodlight failure)
* REPLAY: Hythe United 3 – 1 Faversham Town

#### First Round

* Chatham Town 4 – 1 Greenwich Borough
* Sheppey United 0 – 3 Deal Town
* Thamesmead Town 0 – 2 Crockenhill
* Byes for the other 13 teams
Sources:
* Second Round: "Weekend Results And Tables: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup, second round". Kent Times. 23 November 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Soccer Details: Last Night's Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup, second round replay". Kent Times. 9 December 1998. p. 31. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* First Round: "Soccer Details: Last Night's Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Premier Division Cup". Kent Times. 28 October 1998. p. 31. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

## Reserves Section

The letter "R" following team names indicates a club's reserves team.
The 1998–99 Reserves Section comprised a single division. The promotion of reserves teams into the Premier Division was not permitted. There was a single League Cup competition for the teams in the section.

### Division One

The division featured teams from 19 clubs, 16 of which were from the previous season together with three additional teams
* Swanley Furness who had dropped from the top division and replaced their reserves team.
* Canterbury City R
* Cray Wanderers R
The division was won by Deal Town R.
At the end of the season Crockenhill R resigned from the league and the remainder of the teams were allocated to two new equally ranked, geographically based divisions, Division One North and Division One South.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Deal Town R | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 114 | 25 | +89 | 90 | Moved to Division One South |
| 2 | Dover Athletic R | 36 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 109 | 33 | +76 | 86 | Moved to Division One South |
| 3 | Margate R | 36 | 23 | 11 | 2 | 85 | 25 | +60 | 82 | Moved to Division One South |
| 4 | Swanley Furness | 36 | 20 | 4 | 12 | 69 | 46 | +23 | 67 | Moved to Division One North |
| 5 | Thamesmead Town R | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 91 | 65 | +26 | 65 | Moved to Division One North |
| 6 | Folkestone Invicta R | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 98 | 70 | +28 | 64 | Moved to Division One South |
| 7 | Ramsgate R | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 74 | 62 | +12 | 61 | Moved to Division One South |
| 8 | Hastings Town R | 36 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 54 | Moved to Division One North |
| 9 | Lordswood R | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 67 | 69 | −2 | 51 | Moved to Division One South |
| 10 | Dartford R | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 60 | 64 | −4 | 49 | Moved to Division One North |
| 11 | Sittingbourne R | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 46 | Moved to Division One South |
| 12 | Chatham Town R | 36 | 13 | 4 | 19 | 57 | 79 | −22 | 43 | Moved to Division One North |
| 13 | Beckenham Town R | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 39 | Moved to Division One North |
| 14 | Herne Bay R | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 54 | 75 | −21 | 37 | Moved to Division One South |
| 15 | Canterbury City R | 36 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 42 | 91 | −49 | 37 | Moved to Division One South |
| 16 | Cray Wanderers R | 36 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 46 | 83 | −37 | 30 | Moved to Division One North |
| 17 | Hythe United R | 36 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 39 | 99 | −60 | 24 | Moved to Division One South |
| 18 | Crockenhill R | 36 | 4 | 10 | 22 | 45 | 94 | −49 | 22 | Resigned |
| 19 | Whitstable Town R | 36 | 5 | 3 | 28 | 32 | 86 | −54 | 18 | Moved to Division One South |
* ↑ Margate R were awarded two points
* ↑ Swanley Furness were awarded three points
* ↑ Thamesmead Town R were awarded two points
* ↑ Sittingbourne R were deducted three points
* ↑ Beckenham Town R were deducted two points

### Division One Cup

The 1998–99 Kent Football League Division One Cup was won by Dover Athletic R.
The competition for the 19 teams from the Division One comprised five rounds: the first three were a single match knock-out followed by the semis-finals on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) and a single match final. Although the final was scheduled to be at Herne Bay F.C. it was agreed to move it to the home ground of one of the two competing clubs - Dover Athletic won the coin toss.

#### 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 |
| Swanley Furness | Swanley Furness | Swanley Furness | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 4 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 4 | 1 | Swanley Furness | Swanley Furness | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | |
| Sittingbourne R | Sittingbourne R | 0 | 0 | 2p | Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | |
| Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | 0 | 0 | 3p | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | 0 | 0 | 3p | | | | | | Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | Dover Athletic R | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | 0 |
| Hythe United R | Hythe United R | Hythe United R | Hythe United R | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | 0 |
| Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | 10 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | 10 | Deal Town R | Deal Town R | 3 | 0 | 3 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Dartford R | Dartford R | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |
| Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | 2 | Dartford R | Dartford R | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |
| Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
* 1 2 After extra time
* 1 2 Replay
* 1 2 After extra time
* 1 2 Replay, after extra time
* 1 2 Penalty shoot-out
Sources:
* Quarter-finals: "Senior soccer details: Results: Saturday: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, third round". Kent Messenger. 22 January 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Senior soccer details: Results: Saturday: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, third round". Kent Messenger. 29 January 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Senior soccer details: Results: Wednesday: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, third round replay". Kent Messenger. 29 January 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Senior soccer details: Results: Wednesday: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, third round & Third round replay". Kent Messenger. 5 February 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Semi-finals: "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, March 13: Winstonlead Kent League: Division One Cup, Semi-Finals, First Leg". Dover Express. 18 March 1999. p. 71. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, March 20: Winstonlead Kent League: Division One Cup, Semi-Finals, Second Leg". Dover Express. 25 March 1999. p. 79. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Final: "Football Results And Fixtures Service: Results: Saturday, April 10: Winstonlead Kent League: Division One Cup Final". Dover Express. 15 April 1999. p. 71. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.

#### Second Round

* Swanley Furness 4 – 3 Chatham Town R
* Whitstable Town R 3 – 3 Lordswood R (score at 90 minutes: 3–3)
* REPLAY: Lordswood R 0 – 2 Whitstable Town R
* Ramsgate R 1 – 1 (aet) Sittingbourne R (score at 90 minutes: 1–1)
* REPLAY: Sittingbourne R 1 – 0 Ramsgate R
* Cray Wanderers R 1 – 1 (aet) Dover Athletic R (score at 90 minutes: 0–0)
* REPLAY: Dover Athletic R 2 – 1 Cray Wanderers R
* Canterbury City R 2 – 5 Hythe United R
* Crockenhill R 0 – 1 Deal Town R
* Hastings Town R 2 – 5 Folkestone Invicta R
* Thamesmead Town R 1 – 2 Dartford R

#### First Round

* Herne Bay R 0 – 1 Cray Wanderers R
* Margate R 1 – 2 Hythe United R
* Dartford R 3 – 2 Beckenham Town R
* Byes for the other 13 teams
Sources:
* Second Round: "Weekend Results And Tables: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round". Kent Times. 23 November 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Weekend Results: Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round". Kent Times. 30 November 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Soccer Details: Last Night's Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round replay". Kent Times. 2 December 1998. p. 31. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Soccer Details: Last Night's Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, second round replay". Kent Times. 3 December 1998. p. 39. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup 2nd round". Kent Times. 7 December 1998. p. 35. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Soccer Details: Last Night's Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup (second round replay)". Kent Times. 16 December 1998. p. 31. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* First Round: "All The Weekend Soccer Details: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, 1st Round". Kent Times. 19 October 1998. p. 20. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Weekend Results And Tables: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, first round". Kent Times. 26 October 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Weekend Results: Winstonlead Kent League: Division 1 Cup, First round". Kent Times. 9 November 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 21 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.