# 2005–06 Kent Football League

The 2005–06 Kent Football League season (known as the Kentish Observer League for sponsorship reasons) was the 40th in the history of Kent Football League a football competition in England.
The League structure comprised three divisions: a Premier Division together with Divisions One and Two – the latter two were known as the Reserves Section, comprising reserves teams which 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 two divisions of the Reserves Section.

## Premier Division

The league featured 16 clubs, 15 of which competed in the previous season together with one additional club:
* Erith & Belvedere, relegated from the Southern League
At the end of the season Maidstone United were promoted to the Isthmian League Division One South.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Maidstone United | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 85 | 23 | +62 | 72 | Promoted to the Isthmian League Division One South |
| 2 | Beckenham Town | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 96 | 24 | +72 | 70 | |
| 3 | Thamesmead Town | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 73 | 41 | +32 | 60 | |
| 4 | Erith & Belvedere | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 31 | +19 | 58 | |
| 5 | Whitstable Town | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 55 | |
| 6 | VCD Athletic | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 50 | 31 | +19 | 50 | |
| 7 | Herne Bay | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 49 | |
| 8 | Lordswood | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 45 | |
| 9 | Deal Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 43 | |
| 10 | Tunbridge Wells | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 37 | |
| 11 | Slade Green | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 56 | −25 | 34 | |
| 12 | Hythe Town | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 27 | |
| 13 | Greenwich Borough | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 36 | 69 | −33 | 24 | |
| 14 | Erith Town | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 22 | 64 | −42 | 20 | |
| 15 | Sporting Bengal United | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 107 | −80 | 15 | |
| 16 | Sevenoaks Town | 30 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 70 | −52 | 14 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEC | DEA | E&B | ERI | GRE | HER | HYT | LOR | MAI | SEV | SLA | SPB | THA | TUN | VCD | WHI |
| Beckenham Town | | 5–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 9–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 8–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 6–2 |
| Deal Town | 0–2 | | 2–3 | 5–1 | 7–3 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Erith & Belvedere | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Erith Town | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Greenwich Borough | 0–7 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–5 |
| Herne Bay | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 8–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Hythe Town | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 0–3 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Lordswood | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 0–5 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| Maidstone United | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 5–2 | 0–1 | | 5–0 | 2–0 | 9–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Sevenoaks Town | 2–6 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–5 |
| Slade Green | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–7 | 2–5 |
| Sporting Bengal United | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–7 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–7 |
| Thamesmead Town | 2–1 | 6–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 2–2 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–3 | | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| VCD Athletic | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | | 1–3 |
| Whitstable Town | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | |

### Challenge Cup

The 2005–06 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Maidstone United who completed the League and Cup double.
The competition was played by the 16 teams form the Premier Division One initially organised into four groups. The group winners and runners-up progressed into the quarter-finals, decided on a single match knockout basis with the group winners drawn at home. The semi-finals were decided on an aggregate basis (home and away matches), followed by a 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 |
| Thamesmead Town | Thamesmead Town | Thamesmead Town | Thamesmead Town | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | 2 | Hythe Town | Hythe Town | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | |
| Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 4 | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | |
| Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | Beckenham Town | 3 | | | | | | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | Maidstone United | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 |
| Lordswood | Lordswood | Lordswood | Lordswood | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 0 |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 1 | VCD Athletic | VCD Athletic | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| Herne Bay | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | 2 | Herne Bay | Herne Bay | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | Whitstable Town | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
* 1 2 After extra time
Kentish Football

#### Group Stage

* Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Herne Bay | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 13 | Progressed to Quarter-final (home) |
| 2 | Hythe Town | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 10 | Progressed to Quarter-final (away) |
| 3 | Erith & Belvedere | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 | |
| 4 | Sporting Bengal United | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 25 | −21 | 1 | |
| Home \ Away | E&B | HER | HYT | SPB |
| Erith & Belvedere | | 2–0 | 2–4 | 5–0 |
| Herne Bay | 4–0 | | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Hythe Town | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 7–1 |
| Sporting Bengal United | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–6 | |
* Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Lordswood | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 13 | Progressed to Quarter-final (home) |
| 2 | Whitstable Town | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 11 | Progressed to Quarter-final (away) |
| 3 | Erith Town | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Greenwich Borough | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 4 | |
| Home \ Away | ERI | GRE | LOR | WHI |
| Erith Town | | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Greenwich Borough | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Lordswood | 2–0 | 3–2 | | 3–3 |
| Whitstable Town | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | |
* Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Maidstone United | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 15 | Progressed to Quarter-final (home) |
| 2 | VCD Athletic | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 11 | Progressed to Quarter-final (away) |
| 3 | Tunbridge Wells | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4 | Deal Town | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 0 | |
| Home \ Away | DEA | MAI | TUN | VCD |
| Deal Town | | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–4 |
| Maidstone United | 5–1 | | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 3–1 | 0–3 | | 0–0 |
| VCD Athletic | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |
* Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Thamesmead Town | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 | Progressed to Quarter-final (home) |
| 2 | Beckenham Town | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 10 | Progressed to Quarter-final (away) |
| 3 | Slade Green | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | |
| 4 | Sevenoaks Town | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 1 | |
| Home \ Away | BEC | SEV | SLA | THA |
| Beckenham Town | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 |
| Sevenoaks Town | 0–4 | | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Slade Green | 1–1 | 6–1 | | 0–2 |
| Thamesmead Town | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |

## Reserves Section

The letter "R" following team names indicates a club's reserves team.
The 2005–06 Reserves Section comprised two divisions, with promotion and relegation possible between the divisions. Promotion from the Reserves Section into the Premier Division was not permitted. There was a single League Cup competition for all teams in the section.

### Division One

The division featured twelve clubs, ten of which competed in the previous season together with Whitstable Town R and Bromley R who had both been promoted from Division Two.
At the end of the season Deal Town R and Herne Bay R were relegated to Division Two.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Thamesmead Town R | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 50 | 23 | +27 | 50 | |
| 2 | Whitstable Town R | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 42 | |
| 3 | Cray Wanderers R | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 38 | |
| 4 | Bromley R | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 38 | |
| 5 | Dartford R | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 35 | |
| 6 | Erith Town R | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 34 | |
| 7 | Ramsgate R | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 30 | |
| 8 | Ashford Town (Kent) R | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 28 | |
| 9 | Erith & Belvedere R | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 27 | |
| 10 | Maidstone United R | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 53 | −22 | 22 | |
| 11 | Herne Bay R | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 25 | 46 | −21 | 14 | Relegated to Division Two |
| 12 | Deal Town R | 22 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 12 | Relegated to Division Two |

### Division Two

The division featured eleven clubs, nine of which competed in the previous season together with two additional clubs:
* Greenwich Borough R rejoining the league after an absence of three seasons.
* Tilbury R
At the end of the season Folkestone Invicta R and Sevenoaks Town R were promoted to Division One and Slade Green R left the League.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Folkestone Invicta R | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 16 | +37 | 46 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Sevenoaks Town R | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 37 | Promoted to Division One |
| 3 | Chatham Town R | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 34 | |
| 4 | Slade Green R | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 22 | +14 | 33 | Resigned from the League |
| 5 | Tunbridge Wells R | 20 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 31 | |
| 6 | Lordswood R | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 28 | |
| 7 | Greenwich Borough R | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 23 | |
| 8 | VCD Athletic R | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 22 | |
| 9 | Tilbury R | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 20 | |
| 10 | Sittingbourne R | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 17 | |
| 11 | Hythe Town R | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 14 | |
* 1 2 Greenwich R v Hythe Town R match awarded to Greenwich R

### Reserves Cup

The 2005–06 Kent Football League Reserves Cup was won by Dartford R.
The competition was contested by all 23 teams of the Reserves Section over a total of five rounds: the first three were single match knock-out rounds, followed by the semi-finals on an aggregate basis (home and away matches) and then 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 |
| Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | VCD Athletic R | 0 | Dartford R | Dartford R | 5 | ? | ? | | | | | |
| | | | | | Ashford Town (Kent) R | Ashford Town (Kent) R | 0 | ? | ? | | | | | |
| Ashford Town (Kent) R | Ashford Town (Kent) R | Ashford Town (Kent) R | Ashford Town (Kent) R | 4 | Ashford Town (Kent) R | Ashford Town (Kent) R | 0 | ? | ? | | | | | |
| Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | Tunbridge Wells R | 3 | | | | | | Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | Dartford R | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 1 |
| Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 1 |
| Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | Hythe Town R | 1 | Whitstable Town R | Whitstable Town R | 5 | 1 | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | | | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| Thamesmead Town R | Thamesmead Town R | Thamesmead Town R | Thamesmead Town R | 0 | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | Folkestone Invicta R | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
* 1 2 After extra time

#### Second Round

* Dartford R 2 – 2 Erith & Belvedere R
* Replay: Erith & Belvedere R 1 – 2 Dartford R
* Greenwich Borough R 1 – 4 VCD Athletic R
* Ashford Town (Kent) R 7 – 1 Sittingbourne R
* Chatham Town R 2 – 3 Tunbridge Wells R
* Lordswood R 1 – 1 Whitstable Town R
* Replay: Whitstable Town R 4 – 0 Lordswood R
* Hythe Town R 1 – 1 (aet) Ramsgate R (Hythe Town R won 5–4 on penalties)
* Cray Wanderers R 0 – 3 Thamesmead Town R
* Deal Town R 1 – 3 Folkestone Invicta R

#### First Round

* Maidstone United R 1 – 3 Erith & Belvedere R
* Bromley R 2 – 2 (aet) VCD Athletic R (VCD Athletic R won 4–2 on penalties)
* Erith Town R 3 – 3 (aet) Ashford Town (Kent) R (Ashford Town (Kent) R won 5–4 on penalties)
* Tunbridge Wells R 6 – 1 Sevenoaks Town R
* Slade Green R 1 – 4 Whitstable Town R
* Tilbury R 1 – 1 (aet) Hythe Town R (Hythe Town R won 4–3 on penalties)
* Cray Wanderers R 3 – 1 Herne Bay R
Byes for the remaining nine teams
Source: Kent League (archived) & Kentish Football