Leighton’s Golden Boot Crowns Historic Title-Winning Season for Bridges

Three Bridges brought the curtain down on their historic Isthmian South East title-winning campaign with an entertaining 2–2 draw away at Faversham Town, in a match that mattered far more to the hosts than the already-crowned champions.

With the title secured, Jamie Crellin rotated his side, handing opportunities to returning players and newer additions, while Faversham entered the contest still clinging to slim play-off hopes.

Bridges made a dream start, striking inside the opening minute. A slick attacking move saw Kevin Rivera release Carlos Richards, who showed excellent composure to fire home from a tight angle and give the visitors an immediate lead.

Faversham responded quickly, levelling in the 6th minute when Tashi-Jay Kwayie found space to head home unchallenged. The remainder of the first half largely belonged to the hosts, who played with greater urgency and created a number of chances. Sam Roberts was called into action on multiple occasions, most notably producing a remarkable close-range stop with his face to keep the scores level at the break.

The second half began in similar fashion, with Roberts again making an outstanding save to deny Josh Ajayi’s low effort. However, against the run of play, Bridges regained the lead in the 49th minute. Richards was once again the provider of the decisive moment, slipping in behind the defence before calmly slotting home his second of the afternoon.

Buoyed by the goal, Bridges grew into the contest and the remainder of the game became more evenly balanced. Noel Leighton came close to extending the lead in the 83rd minute, his deflected header crashing back off the crossbar.

Drama unfolded late on when Leighton raced through on goal in the 87th minute, only for Faversham goalkeeper Jacob Russell to handle the ball outside the area. The referee had little choice but to show a red card, giving Bridges a numerical advantage heading into stoppage time.

However, there was a final twist. Deep into added time, Faversham were awarded a soft penalty, and Kwayie converted from the spot to secure a point for the hosts. On the balance of play, a draw was a fair outcome.

The result concludes a remarkable league season for Three Bridges. Champions with a record of 30 wins, 6 draws, and 6 defeats, they scored an impressive 124 goals while conceding just 44. Noel Leighton led the way with 31 league goals to claim the Golden Boot, supported by Reece Hallard (29) and Charlie Bennett (23) in a prolific attacking unit.

Leighton’s contribution has been particularly notable. After returning to the club during a difficult period, he has played a pivotal role in their rise, culminating in both personal and team success as Bridges secure promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division for the first time in the club’s 125-year history.

Despite the league campaign ending, there is still one major fixture to come. Bridges will head to the Amex Stadium on May 13th for the Sussex Senior Cup Final, where they will face either Eastbourne Borough or Brighton & Hove Albion U21s

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	C	Three Bridges	21	17	3	1	21	13	3	5	42	30	6	6	124	44	+80	96
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	21	13	3	5	21	13	4	4	42	26	7	9	96	58	+38	85
	3	Jersey Bulls	21	14	5	2	21	10	7	4	42	24	12	6	81	35	+46	84
	4	AFC Whyteleafe	21	13	3	5	21	12	5	4	42	25	8	9	109	46	+63	83
	5	Sittingbourne	21	13	6	2	21	10	4	7	42	23	10	9	86	50	+36	79
	6	Margate	21	11	2	8	21	11	7	3	42	22	9	11	87	63	+24	75
	7	Faversham Town	21	10	7	4	21	10	7	4	42	20	14	8	86	58	+28	74
	8	Deal Town	21	11	3	7	21	10	3	8	42	21	6	15	91	66	+25	69
	9	Ashford United	21	11	5	5	21	9	2	10	42	20	7	15	92	67	+25	67
	10	Merstham	21	8	5	8	21	9	4	8	42	17	9	16	73	65	+8	60
	11	Eastbourne Town	21	10	5	6	21	6	3	12	42	16	8	18	63	77	-14	56
	12	Sevenoaks Town	21	9	3	9	21	7	4	10	42	16	7	19	72	80	-8	55
	13	Herne Bay	21	7	6	8	21	8	4	9	42	15	10	17	63	75	-12	55
	14	Crowborough Athletic	21	9	3	9	21	7	4	10	42	16	7	19	63	84	-21	55
	15	Broadbridge Heath	21	9	1	11	21	6	4	11	42	15	5	22	80	90	-10	50
	16	Erith Town (-1)	21	5	7	9	21	7	5	9	42	12	12	18	65	81	-16	47
	17	Hastings United	21	6	5	10	21	7	2	12	42	13	7	22	55	70	-15	46
	18	Sheppey United	21	7	4	10	21	5	4	12	42	12	8	22	63	95	-32	44
	R	Hassocks	21	7	3	11	21	4	5	12	42	11	8	23	53	79	-26	41
	R	Beckenham Town	21	4	5	12	21	4	6	11	42	8	11	23	53	94	-41	35
	R	VCD Athletic	21	5	4	12	21	3	4	14	42	8	8	26	54	101	-47	32
	R	East Grinstead Town	21	0	3	18	21	1	0	20	42	1	3	38	30	161	-131	6