2004–05 Isthmian League

The 2004–05 season was the 90th in the history of the Isthmian League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from London, East and South East England. Also, it was the first season after the creation of the Conference North and South, one step above the Isthmian League. Therefore, it was the inaugural season for the league at the seventh, eighth and ninth tiers in the English league system.

Premier Division

Isthmian League
Premier Division

Season	2004–05
Champions	Yeading
Promoted	Yeading Eastleigh
Relegated	Tonbridge Angels Dover Athletic Kingstonian
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,302 (2.82 per match)
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

After the creation of the Conference North and South, placed above the Isthmian League before the start of the season. Most of the Premier Division teams were transferred to the newly created divisions.

Yeading won the division to earn a second consecutive title and were promoted to the Conference South along with play-off winners Eastleigh, who also achieved their second promotion in a row. Tonbridge Angels, Dover Athletic and Kingstonian finished bottom of the table and were relegated to Division One, while 19th-placed Cheshunt were reprieved after Conference South side Hornchurch folded, Cheshunt being the team with a better record than the equivalent Northern Premier League and Southern League teams.

League formation

The Premier Division featured seven teams from the previous season and 15 new clubs:

• Seven teams remained in the league:
  • Billericay Town
  • Braintree Town
  • Harrow Borough
  • Hendon
  • Heybridge Swifts
  • Kingstonian
  • Northwood
• Five teams promoted from Division One South:
  • Hampton & Richmond Borough
  • Slough Town
  • Staines Town
  • Windsor & Eton
  • Worthing

• Four teams promoted from Division One North:
  • Cheshunt
  • Leyton
  • Wealdstone
  • Yeading
• Two teams transferred from the Southern Football League Premier Division:
  • Chelmsford City
  • Dover Athletic
• Four teams promoted from Southern Football League Division One East:
  • Eastleigh
  • Folkestone Invicta
  • Salisbury City
  • Tonbridge Angels

Play-offs

Source:

	Semifinals					Final
	2	Billericay Town	0
	5	Leyton	2
						3	Eastleigh	2
						5	Leyton	1
	3	Eastleigh	2
	4	Braintree Town	0

Division One

Isthmian League Division One

Season	2004–05
Champions	AFC Wimbledon
Promoted	AFC Wimbledon Walton & Hersham Bromley
Relegated	Dorking Croydon
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,410 (3.05 per match)
← 2003–04 (North) 2003–04 (South) 2005–06 →

After the creation of the Conference North and South one step above the Isthmian League, most of the Premier Division teams were transferred to the newly created divisions. Сonsequently, nine Division One teams took up the empty spots in higher divisions. The remaining Division One North teams were transferred to the Southern Football League. The two Isthmian League Division One sections were merged into single Division One.

AFC Wimbledon won the division to earn a second promotion in a row along with runners-up Walton & Hersham and play-off winners Bromley. Dorking returned to Division Two along with Croydon.

League formation

Division One consisted of 13 teams transferred from Division One South and nine new teams:

• 13 teams transferred from Division One South:
  • Banstead Athletic
  • Bromley
  • Corinthian Casuals
  • Croydon
  • Croydon Athletic
  • Dulwich Hamlet
  • Horsham
  • Leatherhead
  • Metropolitan Police
  • Molesey
  • Tooting & Mitcham
  • Walton & Hersham
  • Whyteleafe

• Six teams transferred from Southern Football League Division One East:
  • Ashford Town
  • Bashley
  • Burgess Hill Town
  • Fleet Town
  • Hastings United
  • Newport IOW
• Plus:
  • Dorking, promoted from Division Two
  • AFC Wimbledon, promoted from the Combined Counties League
  • Cray Wanderers, promoted from the Kent League

Play-offs

Source:

	Semifinals					Final
	4	Bromley	1(4)
	5	Metropolitan Police	1(3)
						3	Horsham	1
						4	Bromley	3
	3	Horsham	3
	6	Cray Wanderers	1

Division Two

Isthmian League Division Two

Season	2004–05
Champions	Ilford
Promoted	Ilford Enfield
Relegated	none
Matches played	240
Goals scored	788 (3.28 per match)
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Division two consisted of 16 clubs, including 13 clubs from the previous season, and three new clubs:

• Epsom & Ewell, relegated from Division One South
• Enfield, relegated from Division One North
• Brook House, promoted from the Spartan South Midlands League

Ilford won the division and were promoted to Southern League Division One East along with runners-up Enfield. There was no relegation from Division Two, though Abingdon Town resigned from the league at the end of the season.

League Cup

2004–05 Isthmian League Cup

Tournament details
Country	England
Teams	60
Defending champions	Thurrock
Final positions
Champions	Slough Town
Runner-up	Hampton & Richmond Borough

The Isthmian League Cup 2004–05 was the 31st season of the Isthmian League Cup, the league cup competition of the Isthmian League. Sixty clubs took part. The competition commenced on 26 October 2004 and finished on 28 April 2005.

Calendar

Round	Date	Matches	Clubs
First Round	26 October 2004	18	60 → 42
Second Round	16 November 2004	10	42 → 32
Third Round	3 January 2005	16	32 → 16
Fourth Round	1 February 2005	8	16 → 8
Quarterfinals	22 February 2005	4	8 → 4
Semifinals	15 March 2005 and 22 March 2005	2	4 → 2
Final	28 April 2005	1	2 → 1

Fixtures and results

First Round

In the First Round, the thirty-six lowest ranked clubs in the Isthmian League played each other for a place in the Second Round. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
1	AFC Wimbledon	2–0	Flackwell Heath	1,063
2	Bashley	4–0	Abingdon Town
3	Brook House	3–2	Molesey
4	Chalfont St. Peter	3–4	Clapton
5	Chertsey Town	1–2	Burgess Hill Town
6	Cray Wanderers	5–1	Camberley Town
7	Croydon Athletic	4–1	Dorking
8	Dulwich Hamlet	6–0	Corinthian-Casuals
9	Edgware Town	3–4	Horsham

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
10	Epsom & Ewell	1–2	Witham Town
11	Hertford Town	1–0	Bromley
12	Ilford	1–2	Kingsbury Town
13	Leatherhead	1–0	Newport IOW
14	Metropolitan Police	5–1	Hastings United
15	Tooting & Mitcham United	2–1	Ashford Town (Kent)
16	Walton & Hersham	7–1	Banstead Athletic
17	Ware	2–3	Enfield
18	Wembley	0–2	Croydon

Second Round

The eighteen clubs to have made it through the First Round were entered into the Second Round draw with Fleet Town and Whyteleafe, making twenty teams. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
19	Burgess Hill Town	3–0	Whyteleafe
20	Clapton	0–1	Walton & Hersham
21	Cray Wanderers	2–1	Croydon
22	Dulwich Hamlet	4–1	Croydon Athletic
23	Fleet Town	3–0	Brook House
24	Horsham	1–2	AFC Wimbledon

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
25	Kingsbury Town	3–4	Enfield
26	Leatherhead	2–0	Tooting & Mitcham United
27	Metropolitan Police	2–3	Hertford Town
28	Witham Town	2–3	Bashley

Third Round

The ten clubs to have made it through the Second Round were entered into the Third Round draw with the top twenty-two clubs, making thirty-two teams. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
29	Billericay Town	0–2	Heybridge Swifts
30	Cray Wanderers	1–0	Burgess Hill Town
31	Dover Athletic	1–2	AFC Wimbledon
32	Enfield	1–4	Bashley
33	Fleet Town	0–2	Yeading
34	Folkestone Invicta	6–1	Kingstonian
35	Hampton & Richmond Borough	2–1	Dulwich Hamlet
36	Harrow Borough	0–1	Braintree Town

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
37	Hendon	3–6	Leatherhead
38	Hertford Town	0–1	Chelmsford City
39	Salisbury City	2–0	Leyton
40	Slough Town	1–0	Cheshunt
41	Walton & Hersham	2–1	Northwood
42	Wealdstone	3–0	Tonbridge Angels
43	Windsor & Eton	0–1	Staines Town
44	Worthing	0–2	Eastleigh

Fourth Round

The sixteen clubs to have made it through the Third Round were entered into the Fourth Round draw. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
45	AFC Wimbledon	3–2	Cray Wanderers
46	Chelmsford City	2–1	Wealdstone
47	Eastleigh	1–2	Hampton & Richmond Borough
48	Folkestone Invicta	2–1	Bashley
49	Leatherhead	3–3	Yeading
Leatherhead advance on penalties
50	Slough Town	3–0	Salisbury City
51	Staines Town	0–1	Heybridge Swifts
52	Walton & Hersham	0–2	Braintree Town

Quarterfinals

The eight clubs to have made it through the Fourth Round were entered into the Quarterfinals draw. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
53	Chelmsford City	3–0	Leatherhead
54	Hampton & Richmond Borough	1–0	Braintree Town
55	Heybridge Swifts	1–1	Folkestone Invicta
Heybridge Swifts advance on penalties
56	Slough Town	4–2	AFC Wimbledon

Semifinals

The four teams to have made it through the Quarterfinals were entered into the Semifinals draw. The Semifinals fixtures were played over two legs. Fixtures are listed in alphabetical order, not that which they were drawn in.

First leg
Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
57	Hampton & Richmond Borough	0–0	Chelmsford City
58	Heybridge Swifts	1–2	Slough Town

Second leg
Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
59	Chelmsford City	0–1	Hampton & Richmond Borough
60	Slough Town	2–1	Heybridge Swifts

Final

The players of Slough Town and Hampton & Richmond Borough enter the field of play for the Final.

The Final was held on Thursday, 28 April 2005 at Wheatsheaf Park, home of Staines Town. The winners were Slough Town, who beat Hampton & Richmond Borough by three goals to one in front of 725 spectators. The referee for this match was Martin Darlow.

Hampton & Richmond Borough went into the match in fifth place in the Isthmian League Premier Division and Slough Town in 13th. The goalscorers for Slough Town were Ian Hodges (two) and Josias Carbon. Dudley Gardner scored for Hampton & Richmond Borough.

The only red card of the match came for Hampton & Richmond Borough's Dean Wells. There was also a yellow card for Slough Town's Josias Carbon.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
61	Hampton & Richmond Borough	1–3	Slough Town	725

See also

• Isthmian League
• 2004–05 Northern Premier League
• 2004–05 Southern Football League

External links

• Official website