Tunbridge Wells Beaten at Kennington as West Kent SCEFL Clubs Have a Mixed Weekend

A busy weekend of SCEFL fixtures left West Kent's clubs with plenty to reflect on, as early pace-setters Tunbridge Wells suffered their first league defeat of the season while Snodland Town and Larkfield & New Hythe went in opposite directions in the Premier Division.

Tunbridge Wells came away from Saturday's trip to Kennington with nothing to show for their efforts, beaten 3-1 in a result that leaves the club with some early season work to do. Kennington's win was their fourth league game without defeat, and it lifted them to second place on eight points — just one behind Bearsted, who kept up their own unbeaten start with a Friday night victory at Sutton Athletic. For Tunbridge Wells, the challenge now is to regroup quickly, with a Bank Holiday Monday fixture following hard on the heels of this defeat.

Snodland Town moved up to seven points courtesy of a tight 1-0 win over a previously unbeaten Corinthian side, a result that will have been particularly satisfying given Corinthian's perfect start up to that point.

It was a tougher afternoon for Larkfield & New Hythe, beaten 3-0 at home by SE Dons to make it three defeats in a row after winning their opening two — a swing in form worth keeping an eye on as the weeks progress. Elsewhere in the Premier Division, the scheduled meeting between Rusthall and Petts Wood & Holmesdale was postponed. With Bearsted on nine points and Kennington on eight, the early pace at the top of the table is being set by two sides with maximum or near-maximum returns, while Tunbridge Wells will be looking to Monday's Bank Holiday fixtures to arrest any slide before it becomes a pattern.

In the First Division, West Kent's Staplehurst Monarchs had no fixture this weekend, but stay handily placed on nine points, level with early pace-setters Lordswood. It's still early days in the season, and plenty can change, but with a full programme of fixtures on Bank Holiday Monday, there won't be much time for anyone to settle into their current positions before the tables shift again.