Saturday 3 October
PREMIER DIVISION
Bearsted 1-0 AFC Greenwich Borough
Faversham Strike Force 2-2 Snodland Town
Kennington 2-0 Beckenham Town
Larkfield & New Hythe 2-1 Fisher
Petts Wood & Holmesdale 1-1 Hollands & Blair
Rusthall 4-0 Erith & Belvedere
Sutton Athletic 0-0 Corinthian
Tunbridge Wells 1-5 Phoenix Sports
Fisher Beaten as October Opens With a Shake-Up
October began with a reminder of just how competitive the SCEFL Premier Division is proving to be, as leaders Fisher suffered only their second league defeat of the season, Phoenix Sports hit five on the road and both Bearsted and Kennington strengthened their positions among the chasing pack.
Fisher travelled to Larkfield & New Hythe with a four-point advantage at the summit, but the hosts produced one of their best results of the season to win 2-1. Oghosa Williams, last season’s First Division Golden Boot winner with AFC Greenwich Borough, put Larkfield ahead in the 38th minute before Lauris Chin doubled the advantage on 56 minutes. Donald Macaulay pulled one back for Fisher with 17 minutes remaining, but Larkfield held on to inflict a first defeat on the leaders since August. Fisher remain top on 23 points, but their advantage has been trimmed to three.
Second-placed Hollands & Blair were unable to take full advantage as a much-changed Petts Wood & Holmesdale side held them to a 1-1 draw at Oakley Road. Charlie Weston gave Blair the lead in first-half stoppage time, but Mo Diaby levelled seven minutes after the restart. It was a useful point for Petts Wood & Holmesdale following their difficult opening weeks, while Blair move onto 20 points from ten games.
Kennington are up to third after a 2-0 victory over Beckenham Town at Homelands. Elliott Moore opened the scoring after ten minutes and Tom Scorer added the second in the 56th minute. Kennington now have 17 points, while Beckenham slip into the bottom two as their miserable start continues, with just eight goals scored across their opening ten league matches.
Just behind them, Bearsted moved onto 16 points with an important 1-0 win over AFC Greenwich Borough. There was little between the sides at Otham, with Sam Stace’s 61st-minute goal proving decisive. Bearsted climb to fourth having won five of their nine league games, while Greenwich Borough remain on 14 points after suffering only their second league defeat.
The biggest movers of the afternoon were Phoenix Sports, who continued their recent resurgence with an emphatic 5-1 victory at Tunbridge Wells. Lyle Della-Verde gave Phoenix a dream start after only two minutes and Isaac Hadlow made it two on 18. Jamarie Brissett struck in the 36th minute to put the visitors firmly in control before Jack Gallagher pulled one back for Wells six minutes after the break. Brissett restored the three-goal advantage in the 78th minute before completing his hat-trick in the 90th minute to round off an excellent afternoon for Phoenix, who have now climbed to fifth with 16 points from 11 games.
There was also an emphatic home victory at Jockey Farm, where Rusthall beat Erith & Belvedere 4-0 to climb to sixth. Robbie Bissett broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time and Lekan Osideko doubled the lead in added time. Yassin Fares made it three in the 71st minute before Charlie Clover, who only returned home to Rusthall from Petts Wood & Holmesdale on Friday, marked his comeback with the fourth four minutes from time. For Erith & Belvedere, it was another difficult afternoon and they remain bottom with three points from nine games.
There was late drama at Faversham, where Strike Force and Snodland Town drew 2-2. Snodland looked in control after Sekou Traore opened the scoring in the 14th minute and player-manager Conor Dymond added a second just five minutes later. Josh Oliver reduced the deficit shortly before half-time, and Snodland were denied all three points deep into stoppage time when Tom Carter struck in the 91st minute to rescue a point for the hosts. The draw leaves Faversham on 15 points and Snodland on 14.
The afternoon’s only goalless encounter came at Sutton Athletic, where the hosts and Corinthian shared the points in a 0-0 draw. Sutton move onto 13 points, one ahead of Corinthian, with both clubs sitting in the tightly packed middle of the table.
Fisher therefore remain in control at the top despite their setback, but the picture behind them continues to change. Hollands & Blair are three points adrift, Kennington have moved into third and only two points separate Bearsted in fourth from Rusthall in sixth.
And while the Premier Division produced plenty of talking points, SE Dons were making headlines elsewhere. The Dons produced a remarkable 5-1 victory away to Weymouth to book their place in the next round of the FA Cup, keeping the SCEFL flag flying high.