WITH the football season finishing around Kent, there were still massive prizes to play for. Dover Athletic had the chance for a play-off final, whilst Herne Bay and Sevenoaks Town contested the Premier Division Cup in the Kent League.
Dover Athletic failed to gain promotion from the Blue Square South despite gaining a favourable draw in the play-offs. Dover suffered a shock defeat away to Woking in the first leg of the tie and failed to overturn the deficit with a painfully tense 0-0 draw in the second leg at the crabble. The 'Whites' pushed for a result and were unlucky to hit the woodwork four times in a one sided affair.
Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler was disappointed with the result but looked at the positives;
“I’m disappointed that we have lost in the play-offs but now we have got to go and try to win the league next season”.
So despite Dover’s disappointment in the play-offs, it has been a terrific season at the Crabble and Kent will look forward to an exciting season next time around.
The Kent League finished last week with only a few loose ends to tie up in the league, but a massive cup final between Sevenoaks Town and league runners up Herne Bay.
Pre-season favourites Faversham Town strolled to success in the League with captain and centre-back Lee Shearer, the player of the season, finishing with 15 goals.
With the Premier Division Cup still up for grabs both teams were looking for a glamorous end of the season.
In a thrilling encounter between two evenly matched teams, Herne Bay relied on a late equalliser and extra-time to lift the Premier Division Cup. Stuart King was the hero for ‘Bay’ who claimed their only silverware of the season.
King gave the away side the lead on 24 minutes, only to be cancelled out 10 minutes later by ‘Oaks’ striker Billy Shinners. Sevenoaks hat-trick hero from last week Alfred Keroma, gave the home side a shock lead with 15 minutes remaining in normal time only for King to level with eight minutes to go. Sevenoaks were further disappointed as captain Ward was shown a second yellow with seconds remaining, giving Herne Bay a clear advantage going into extra time. Match winner King, scored the winning goal just after half-time in extra-time as the pressure finally paid off.
For many it’s unsurprising that Faversham Town and Herne Bay finished the season as the top two teams in the league. Deal Town manager Derek Hares said;
“It does not surprise me that Herne Bay and Faversham finished up there, they have a strong base at their clubs and have solid support from the Chairman and the two boards”.
The preparations and friendly’s for next season will begin in August and Kent League managers are already looking towards next season. Hares added;
“It’s important that we get a good pre-season under our belts to make sure that we can keep pace in the league. We have not got the finances that other clubs like Faversham have got, so it will be hard to attract players here, but we have a fantastic squad and if we keep them altogether we can do well”.
Dover Athletic manager Andy Hessenthaler has faced disappointment for his first time as manager, with his side failing to win promotion at the first time of asking. There is constant speculation linking Hessenthaler with the Gillingham job and next season is not so certain for the Crabble club.
