Having been to all but two of the Kent County League Premier Division grounds, I decided to start my final push to complete the league by visiting Hawkinge Town’s ground today to see their fixture against Bexley FC.

The Hawkinge Pavilion Sports Ground provides covered standing under the main sports club and bar’s canopy. The pitch is a basic roped off affair, but there was free car parking, available chairs for seating and no entrance charge, plus I was given a nice welcome in the clubhouse!

Both Bexley and Hawkinge Town will have come into today’s tie feeling frustrated about their mixed starts to the season and desperately keen to secure three points to kick start their campaign.

Hawkinge Town have won one game, drawn one and lost two in their opening fixtures. Manager Andrew Crush has seen his side’s goals come, in the opening league fixtures, from Harry Codd (3 goals), Charlie Groombridge (2 goals) and Toby Greenfield, Wes Maggs, Max Cooper, Sam Carpenter and Josh Byfield (All one goal). Scoring doesn’t seem to have been Hawkinge’s issue, it is their ability to defend that has let them down.

Bexley have had an equally mixed start to the 2024-25 season, with two wins and three defeats in their opening five games. They too are averaging over two goals a game, with Lester Lawrence (6 goals), Sam Ryan (2 goals), Riandeep Dhooper, Ned Kelly, Demetrius Lawrence, Evan O’Connor and Calvin Taps (1 goal) all leading the way. Manager Terry Peck will have been dismayed at his defence’s inconsistency, leaking 21 goals at an average of four a game, so today will have worked to shore this up against a free scoring opposition.

After an opening twenty minutes which saw much Bexley pressure, it was Hawkinge a Town who took the lead in the 24th minute when Harry Codd scored with a fine downward header.

In the 44th minute Hawkinge Town extended the league to 2-0, when a cross from the left hand side was followed in at the far post by Sam Carpenter.

As the whistle blew for half time the Bexley FC players knew they would need to dig very deep to raise their game and close the gap in the second half.

Bexley’s resurgence began on 54 minutes when a rash challenge in the box led to a penalty which was calmly converted by Dan Lawrence.

On 62 minutes the lead was back to two goals when a fine move saw Harry Codd finish to make it 3-1 to Hawkinge Town. At this stage a home victory seemed inevitable.

With just two minutes to go on the clock, Lester Lawrence set up a goal for Jack Evans to pull Bexley FC back to within a single goal at 3-2.

Hawkinge Town then had a chance to hold the ball and see out the three points, but the ball was lost in additional time, at the end of the 90 minutes, allowing Jack Evans to make himself today’s two goal hero, as he scored his second to make it 3-3 and snatch an unlikely point for the visitors.

As the fulltime whistle blew there was elation for the Bexley FC players but desolation for Hawkinge Town’s players who knew they had this game in the bag and a lack of late concentration had let it slip.