Erith & Belvedere   0         

Royal Marines         4          Tilsley 20, Pepper 30, Killian 70, ? 80

Kent Amateur Cup Final, 22 April 1935 (at Dover)

 

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, the heavier of two consecutive Kent Amateur Cup Final defeats.

 

We finished 12th out of 19 in the Kent League in 1934-35, and for the second season running the main excitement came in the Kent Amateur Cup.  The cup run itself was a mini-epic: it took a replay to beat Bostall Heath in the first round and another to beat Bromley in the second.  The semi-final against Lloyd’s Paper Mills was something else: Deres were 2-0 down with a reserve goalkeeper and Billy Bowles an injured passenger on the wing, when they suddenly found a second wind and scored three in five minutes through Alf Sillett, Len Scott and the limping Bowles.  The Mills equalised to force a replay at Maidstone in midweek, by which time we had a full-scale injury crisis.  Goalkeeper Cyril Peters was out with a septic toe and reserve keeper Alan Watkins with a punctured kidney, which meant reserve forward Reg Leonard was in goal.  In such circumstances it was remarkable that Deres won 4-3.  Somewhat unsportingly, the Mills protested to the county FA that we had fielded an unregistered goalkeeper! 

 

Kent FA upheld the appeal, ordered the game to be replayed, fined Deres three guineas plus their share of the gate money and suspended Leonard for the rest of the season.  The third game was at Sittingbourne.  Arthur Ring failed to turn up, Tom Chawner was injured early on, and so E&B played three-quarters of the game with nine men... and won 2-0 with goals by Fred Ford and Sillett, probably fuelled by indignation!

 

So to the final and something of an anti-climax.

 

KENT AMATEUR CUP FINAL – DERES LOSE TO ROYAL MARINES

 

Erith and Belvedere were defeated 4-0 by the Royal Marines from Chatham at Dover on Easter Monday afternoon in the final of the Kent Amateur Cup.

 

The game produced a good number of thrills, and play was far more even than the score suggests.  After missing a penalty in the opening quarter of an hour, Erith fell to pieces for a time, and the Marines, making the most of their chances, established a 2-0 lead.  The second period was definitely in favour of the Deres, but their finishing was poor, and numerous golden opportunities were thrown away by weak shooting.  If Erith had had a leader with opportunism they would have won the game.  As it was, the Marines packed their goal, and with first-time clearances kept the ball out of danger, and it was from surprise breakaways that they added their two remaining goals.

 

Whereas the Marines had a fairly comfortable journey to the Final, scoring 23 goals to their opponents’ eight in the previous rounds, Erith’s path had been particularly strenuous.  In each of their previous rounds a replay was necessary, and in the semi-final, after beating Lloyds in a replay, they were ordered, as the result of a contest by Lloyds, to play the game for the third time.

 

There was little to choose between the teams for the opening quarter of an hour, both goalkeepers bringing off smart saves.  Then Erith missed their golden chance of taking an early lead.  Ring worked his way down on the right and centred squarely into the goalmouth, but Herron ran across and stopped the ball with his hands.  Ford took the penalty but shot straight at the goalkeeper, who tipped the ball over the bar.  The Marines immediately attacked hard, and after 20 minutes opened the scoring.  Peters fell to save a hot drive from Barlow, but Tilsley standing close in scored with ease.  Two lively attacks by the Deres followed quickly, but Frearson did well to save from Beal and again a few moments later from Scott.

 

The Marines’ second goal came after thirty minutes’ play, Pepper snapping up a hot pass and scoring with a great first-time drive into the corner of the net from well outside the penalty area.  For the remainder of the half play was mainly in the Marines’ half, but their defence proved sound and they led by 2-0 at the interval.

 

For practically the whole of the second half Erith were attacking, but with their forwards bunching together and delaying shooting, the Marines had only to use first-time kicking tactics to keep the ball away from the goal.  Scott came the nearest for Erith during the opening stages of the half with a brilliant shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball grazing the bar.  Once the Marines’ goal had a miraculous escape.  Ring worked an opening on the right and centred squarely into the goalmouth.  Frearson pulled the ball down onto the line and Scott had a shot blocked by the goalkeeper, who fell on the ball.  A terrific melee opened, but Frearson managed to retrieve the ball and was fouled in attempting to clear.

 

Territorially Erith had been having far the better of the exchanges, and it came as a surprise when the Marines broke away and increased their lead to 3-0, Killian bursting through and scoring with a fine shot from 25 yards’ range.  Soon afterwards the Marines scored their fourth goal, Friend beating Peters with a cross-shot following a centre from the left.  During the remaining quarter of an hour Erith pressed hotly, but the Marines’ defence held out.

 

After the game Mr W N Rule, chairman of the KCFA, presented the trophy to the winners and miniature cups to both sides.

 

Erith and Belvedere: Cyril Peters; George Morris, Don Reed; Jimmy Friend, Tom Chawner, Jim Townsend; Arthur Ring, Len Scott, Alf Sillett, Reg Beal, Fred Ford.

 

Royal Marines: Frearson; Connan and Herron; Beckham, Killian and Metcalfe; Green, Tilsley, Barlow, Pepper and Miles.

 

Deres’ two wingers that day had widely differing fates.  16 months later Arthur Ring tragically drowned in a freak accident at Gillingham swimming baths.  A few months after that Fred Ford made his First Division debut for Charlton Athletic, his first of 22 top-flight games.  After the war he was a coach at Carlisle under Bill Shankly, managed both Bristol City and Rovers, and in 1970 managed Swindon to the Anglo-Italian Cup, beating Napoli in the final!