Erith & Belvedere   14        Scott 5 (pen), 20, Mahoney 7, 21, 76, Sillett 15, 40, 55, 60, 80, 85, 86, Metcalfe 62, 75

Royal Marines           2        Walker 10, Cox 50     

Kent League, 18 November 1933

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, a record-breaking afternoon with two records that stand to this day.

 

1933-34 was a remarkable season in the Kent League.  London Paper Mills, a works team playing at Princes Park, Dartford, won the league by six points at their first attempt and had a narrow 1-0 defeat home to Southend United in the FA Cup first round.  In a 36-game season no fewer than 5 teams scored over 100 goals and three conceded over 100.  These included Deres, who conceded 108 but scored 82, making us the 8th highest scorers out of 19 even though we finished 16th.  Part of the reason for this was the game at home to the whipping boys of the division.  The game had been scheduled for 11 November, but the Marines team were on duty at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Day.  A week later this happened…

 

GLUT OF GOALS AT PARK VIEW – Erith and Belvedere’s Record Score

 

After an absence of several weeks, Erith and Belvedere returned to their home ground on Saturday in the Kent League, with the Royal Marines (Chatham) as visitors.  The home side were expected to win, but no one dreamed of such a decisive victory, let alone the setting up of a club record.  It may well prove to be a Kent League record too, for Erith scored 14 and the Marines 2.

 

The home forwards were generally able to do almost as they pleased, the Marines’ weakness being at half-back and back.  The two backs were particularly weak, leaving home forwards unmarked with the goal at their mercy.  Watts, the Marine goalkeeper, was particularly unlucky, stopping several drives, but having the mortification of seeing the ball go to one of the home forwards, who promptly returned it into the net.  The feature of the closing stages was the obvious effort of the home forwards to allow Arthur Ring to score, so that all five might feature in the list, but worthy as his efforts were, he was as unlucky as his colleagues were fortunate.

 

A Dixon and W Wilson, the Deres’ new men from the Coldstream Guards, did not turn out, Don Read, signed on in July, making his first appearance at left-back in place of J Ladd, whilst G Mahoney and G Metcalfe formed the left wing.

 

Erith and Belvedere soon demonstrated that their lowly position in the league did not represent their true form, but it was from a penalty that they opened their account, Scott taking it.  What the penalty was for, no one seemed to know.  Before the Marines had recovered from this shock, the Deres forwards went down in line, and Mahoney drove the ball past Watts from close range after seven minutes’ play.

 

The Marines then launched a vigorous attack, at the end of which Walker scored with a drive to the corner of the net.  The Deres again attacked, but Watts frustrated their efforts.  Then after another five minutes’ play, Sillett headed in a free-kick from the right.  Scott increased the Deres’ lead with a drive from the edge of the penalty area after pretty combination between Ring and himself, and within a minute Mahoney had forced his way between the visitors’ backs, to add another goal.  Immediately Ring raced away and flashed the ball across the goal.  Mahoney got his toe to it, but the ball went over the bar.

 

For some time after this, play was equally divided, the Marines’ forwards combining well, but coming up against a resolute defence which wore them down, and then the home forwards had their days.

 

After forty minutes’ play, Sillett headed Erith’s sixth goal from a corner taken by Ring.  Half-time, Erith and Belvedere 6, Royal Marines 1.

 

Five minutes from the restart, Cox scored for the Marines from a centre by Barlow.  The Deres immediately rushed the visitors’ goal, Watts making two quick saves when penned in by home players.  Sillett scored the best goal of the match.  Read robbed Beckham and took the ball down a little way before crossing.  Sillett flung himself along the ground, and just got his head to the ball, which screwed into the net off the upright.

 

Watts, the Marine goalkeeper, was handicapped, having pulled the muscle of his left thigh, but nevertheless he did well to save two shots.  Then Metcalfe sent in a hot drive which Watts repelled, but from point blank range Sillett netted.  From the restart Sillett drove in, Watts again saving, but Metcalfe got the rebound, and netted the Deres’ ninth goal.

 

The Marines raided the home territory, and the goal had a narrow escape, but this attack was short-lived, the Deres again setting up a persistent attack, Ring making some sparkling runs.

 

Read stopped Cox and sent the ball to Scott, who put Ring away, the winger cutting in and shooting.  Again Watts repelled the drive, and once again Metcalfe secured and netted.  A minute later Mahoney added the eleventh.

 

The Marines then forced a corner, which the Deres cleared, and Read putting the ball into the centre, Sillett raced away, but Watts saved.  Barlow many minutes later sent in a nice drive which just grazed the bar.  Sillett scored the twelfth from a pass from the left.  For some reason or other he was left unmarked, and a little later Sillett scored from a crowd in front of goal, whilst Sillett netted immediately after the restart.  In the closing stages, Peters saved twice.  Erith and Belvedere 14, Royal Marines 2.

 

Erith and Belvedere: Cyril Peters; George Morris and Don Read; Jimmy Friend, Billy Bowles and Bob Vincent; Arthur Ring, Len Scott, Alf Sillett, George Mahoney and George Metcalfe.

Royal Marines: Marine Watts; Marines Priest and Rogers; Corporal Sharrock, Marines Cook and Fletcher; Sergeant Barlow, Marines Beckham, Cox and Waugh, and CSM Walker.

 

 

The Marines finished bottom of the table with 7 points from 36 games and a goals tally of 39-184.  This game remains the biggest peacetime win in our history, although we beat Epsom Town 14-1 in a South East Combination match in Febnruary 1943.  Alf Sillett’s 7 goals in this match remains the club record.