1925/26 Kent League

[ManForInfo]

1925/26 was the last season that Dartford spent in the Kent League,before moving to the Southern League.

I've been looking into the traditional end-of-season fixture pile-up that seemed to take place in the Kent League during this time.
Early season cup matches and bad weather during the winter were normally the reasons,coupled with a large (for the time) 36 match league season.
Sometimes the fixture backlog was so severe,that clubs had to play two matches on the same day,which could confuse matters when the newspapers came to report what had happened and when.

The season ended on Saturday 1st May 1926, could anyone tell me about the final couple of matches that Dartford played in the Kent League that season?

[mickw]

Not many current fans are going to remember that far back - perhaps someone will look it up in 'Princes Among Men'

[M1 South]

MFI; When this is all over come & have a pint with me? I'll be your friend, promise!!

[DA Mikey]

Micky Austin was still getting the occasional run out back then I think, but he doesn’t read the forum.
I’ll consult Princes Among Men in a bit unless someone beats me to it.

[Jonty]

This reminds me, I must dust off my old anorak in readiness for Spring.

Indeed, our season finished on the 1st of May, with a 7-0 home win against Sheppey United. 2 days previously, we beat Grays Athletic 2-1 away. Looking through PAM, we finished the league in 4th place. Some of those attendances are unbelievable back in those days.

[ManForInfo]

So the final two games were:
Thu 29th April Grays Athletic (a) 2-1
Sat 1st May Sheppey United (h) 7-0

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

[Jonty]

Yes MFI, according to Princes Among Men. In the book, it has all the seasons results and much more.

Depending on how you interpret the away game result, this is what it says in the book. This could possibly be a loss!

Thu 29th April Grays Athletic (a) 1-2
Sat 1st May Sheppey United (h) 7-0

[Llamaman]

Going from the scores in the book I definitely now would take that as a 2 - 1 home win for Grays. In the copy of the book I have the date is given as 30th April, making it being played on a Friday. The Darts had a match on the 17th March, then a ten day break until the 27th, finishing the season with 13 games in 5 weeks. The team might not have been on fire that season but the grandstand was, the original wood built stand burnt down in February. From pictures it looked a fine building, but the replacement was certainly a grander affair.

[ManForInfo]

Thanks for clearing that up.

13 games in 5 weeks - not too much of a back-log, and certainly no need for two games in one day.

[LA Dart]

Micky Austin was still getting the occasional run out back then I think, but he doesn’t read the forum.
I’ll consult Princes Among Men in a bit unless someone beats me to it.

I was just going to crack an Austin joke here and you beat me to it - fair play to you, carry on !

LA Dart