Deal Town                2          Medus 15, 50

Erith & Belvedere   3          Clary 72, Cornes pen 80, Elphick 90       

Kent League, 13 May 1982

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, the Kent League title decider.

 

Earlier in the series we looked at the Kent League Cup Final which Deres lost to Deal Town on 8 May 1982.With one league game to go Deres and Sittingbourne were level on points, Sittingbourne’s goal difference being greatly superior. The last match of the season for both teams was away to Deal Town, but first Deres had the Kent League Cup Final to play – against Deal, at Sittingbourne!

 

So on Saturday 8 May Deres lost 2-1 in the cup final to Deal, as seen earlier in this series.On the Tuesday night Sittingbourne drew 1-1 at Deal, leaving Deres simply needing to win the last match of the season to take the title.They made heavy weather of it…

 

ERITH GRAB TITLE IN PHOTO-FINISH

 

Erith and Belvedere produced a fairytale ending to their Kent League campaign as they came back from the dead to clinch the title at Deal last Thursday.Needing both points to overhaul Sittngbourne, the Deres staged a most remarkable recovery to turn a two goal deficit into a 3-2 victory.

 

Peter Peters’ side looked down and out with 18 minutes remaining, but then came an amazing three-goal salvo which turned disappointment into celebration.

 

CRASH – Tony Clary outjumped the Deal defence to pull a goal back with a header from a free-kick.

 

BANG – Geoff Cornes levelled the scores from the penalty spot after Terry Elphick had been tripped.

 

WALLOP – Elphick sent the Erith fans wild as he netted the winner with virtually the last kick of the match.

 

And the irony of Erith’s victory will not be lost on those who saw Deal beat the Park View side 2-1 to take the Kent League Cup the previous Saturday.  For it was Elphick’s sliced clearance which presented Deal with their first goal during that match, while Cornes conceded a penalty in the last minute.

 

Peters, who leads Erith into the Southern League next season, admitted: “Those last few minutes were the most nervous I’ve ever known.  When Steve Lane hooked a shot over the bar with the score at 2-2, I thought we’d lost our chance.  But then Terry scored and it was unbelievable.  My only worry was that the lads might get carried away with the excitement and allow Deal back for the equaliser.”

 

Yet Peters’ fears proved unfounded as his side held on for a win which left them a point clear at the top of the table and signalled the start of celebrations which went on into the early hours of Friday morning.

 

After their cup final defeat, Erith’s fate in their challenge for the championship still hung in the balance, with Sittingbourne able to put the title beyond their reach.  Bolstered by a superior goal difference, Sittingbourne knew that victory in their final match at Deal would give them the honours and leave Erith reflecting on what might have been.  But Sittingbourne could only manage a 1-1 draw and that left Erith knowing exactly what they had to do.

 

Erith started brightly enough and in the opening ten minutes went close to taking the lead through Tony Munday, twice, and Clary.  The visitors continued to dominate, but it was Deal who took the lead as Nokes found space inside the penalty area and crossed for Vic Medus to score.

 

Medus added number two early in the second half and when Erith had a second penalty appeal turned down soon after, it seemed the odds were stacked against their taking the points.  Deal – having also beaten Erith 3-0 at Park View this season – might well have thought they were home and dry, but they had reckoned without their fighting spirit.

 

The situation certainly looked brighter for Erith as Clary made it 2-1 and their glory was made complete as Cornes and Elphick notched last-gasp goals.

 

Peters added: “We missed so many chances early on that I began to despair.  I’m only glad that it all came right in the end.”

 

Erith and Belvedere: Martin Dillnutt; Colin Aldridge, Colin Avery, Gary Cooper, Geoff Cornes, Neil Page, Alan Hart, Terry Elphick, Tony Clary, Tony Munday, Steve Lane.

 

 

So we made it, but gosh was it close.  We finished with a record of P30 W17 D10 L3 F45 A22 Pts 44, top by a single point from Sittingbourne with Chatham Town a further two points behind in third.  In the modern history of the Kent/SCEFL League (the website has records since 1974), while the number of teams and matches has varied greatly, the league has never been won with so few wins (17) or so few goals (45).  Remarkably, we only scored one goal in the home games against the next six clubs below us in the league, and two of our three defeats were by 3-0 at home.

 

The team celebrated at Deal, and the football club were excellent hosts.  Neil Page’s mum remarked that it was the best night she’d had since VE night!!