Opening Weekend
FRIDAY 7th AUGUST
SC Thamesmead 0-0 Stansfeld
SATURDAY 8th AUGUST
Bridon Ropes 1-3 Staplehurst Monarchs
FC Elmstead 1-2 Lydd Town
Halls 0-1 Hythe Town
Lordswood 3-0 Banstead Athletic
Minster 1-4 Croydon
Rochester United 3-0 Welling Town
Sheppey Sports 0-2 Lewisham Borough
Tooting Bec 0-3 Greenways
The 2026/27 SCEFL First Division season is up and running, with plenty of early statements made across the opening weekend.
The campaign began on Friday night at Bayliss Avenue, where SC Thamesmead and Stansfeld shared the points in a goalless draw.
Saturday then produced winners in all of the eight matches, with Lordswood, Rochester United and Greenways each making eye-catching starts with 3-0 victories.
Lordswood saw off Banstead Athletic thanks to goals from Luke Adams, Shaquon Williams and Tyler Sterling, while Rochester United also justified some of their pre-season optimism by beating Welling Town, with Mack Reilly scoring twice alongside a Aston Freeman goal.
Greenways enjoyed an excellent opening afternoon on the road, winning 3-0 at Tooting Bec through Dan Ashton, Simon Walton and George Wady.
Croydon recorded the biggest victory of the weekend and top the early table, spoiling Minster’s SCEFL debut with a 4-1 win. Charlie Dale, Cameron Macmillan, Joseph Freeman and Harry Bradford were on target for the visitors, before Jake Munday grabbed a very late consolation for the newcomers.
Staplehurst Monarchs also began with an impressive away victory, beating Bridon Ropes 3-1, while Lydd Town edged FC Elmstead 2-1 in Elmstead’s first league fixture at their new Tonbridge home. Teddy Isaacs with the winner for Lydd late on.
There was a winning return to the First Division for Hythe Town, with a 90th-minute Jake Embery penalty earning them a 1-0 victory at Halls AFC.
Lewisham Borough completed the weekend’s winners, making their long trip to Sheppey Sports worthwhile as second-half goals from Caden Havel-Olding and Chandler Kasai secured a 2-0 success.
After months of waiting and predicting, the first points are finally on the board — and the 2026/27 First Division is up and running.