We will commence our 2023-24 Southern Counties East Football League Campaign this Saturday. We welcome Erith Town to The Belmont Stadium to kick off the season.

About the visitors:

Formed in 1959 as Woolwich Town, the club initially competed in the London Metropolitan Sunday League, winning the Senior Section Championship in 1965/66, 1970/71 and 1974/75.

The club briefly changed their name to Woolwich Heathway but reverted back within a year and in 1991 the club made the switch to Saturday football when they joined the London Spartan League Division Two. They also moved from Woolwich Barracks Stadium to share with Greenwich Borough FC.

Despite finishing 9th the club went up to Division One as a result of a re-structure in 1992/93. In 1994/95 the Dockers finished as runners-up in the London Intermediate Cup and London Spartan League Intermediate Cup.

The summer of 1995 saw the club attain senior status and promotion to the London Spartan League Premier Division. In October of 1995, the club moved from Greenwich to Erith Stadium.

In March 1996 the club were given permission to cross the pyramid and tendered their resignation to the Spartan League to join the Kent League for 1996/97.

They also played in the FA Vase for the first time, losing 4-0 at home to Lewes in the first qualifying round.

From June 1997 the club reflected their new location by changing its name to Erith Town and made their bow in the FA Cup, losing 3-0 to Harlow Town in the 1997/98 season.

The following season the Dockers moved back to Greenwich Borough for a year while extensive building work took place at the Stadium.

The return to Erith in 1999/2000 saw them attain seventh place in the League and a place in the London Senior Cup Final under manager Micky Watts.

John Adams took over from Watts in 2002/3 and over the next few years the club had several changes of manager before Mark Tompkins took the reins following a poor start to 2006/7.

The club won the Kent League Cup, beating favourites Hythe Town 1-0 at Folkestone Invicta. Tompkins resigned on the eve of 2008/9 and his place was taken by Steve O’Boyle who took the team back to the League Cup Final where they lost 3-1 on penalties to Croydon following a 1-1 draw.

O’Boyle resigned in October of 2010 and was replaced by his assistant Tony Russell. He brought success as the club lifted the Kent Senior Trophy for the first time with a 3-1 win over Tunbridge Wells in the Final .

After Russell moved to neighbours VCD Athletic at the end of October 2012, James Collins and the returning Tompkins had spells in charge.

The club entered a groundshare arrangement at Cray Valley Football Club at the start of 2013/14 where they recorded a second successive third place in the League, with their best ever League record.

A troubled 2014/15 season saw both Simon Austin and Ennio Gonnella manage the club prior to appointment of joint managers Martin and Joe Ford who steered the club to safety on the last day of the season.

An improved finish of thirteenth came in 2015/16 with the club announcing a return to the Borough of Bexley with a two season groundshare agreement at VCD Athletic’s Oakwood ground starting in 2016/17.

The club moved back to the Erith Sports Stadium in 2018. Last season they finished 4th in the SCEFL Premier Division, one place and eleven points above Whitstable. They have recently agreed to a two year ground share with Sporting Club Thamesmead, so will play at Bayliss Avenue from the 2023/24 season.

Last Encounters:
WTFC 0-4 ETFC
ETFC 5-2 WTFC

Match Information:
Whitstable Town Vs Erith Town
Saturday 29th July 2023
15:00 Kick Off
Admittance to the ground from 13:30

Ticket Prices:
Adults £10
Concessions £5
Under 16s Free

Finding Us:
Belmont Stadium offers two entrances for visitors. The first gate is situated in our car park, which can be located using the postcode CT5 4LN. Please note that parking spaces in the car park are limited, and we request that you park thoughtfully to avoid causing inconvenience to our neighbours on the surrounding roads if the car park is full. The second gate is solely for pedestrians and cannot be accessed by cars, making it perfect for visitors arriving from Whitstable High Street or Whitstable Train Station.