Larkfield & New Hythe clinched promotion to the Southern Counties East Premier Division on Saturday. Second-placed Larkfield edged a tightly-contested Division 1 Play-off Final at home to third-placed Staplehurst Monarchs. It was a case of third time lucky for Larkfield, who lost the final to Sutton Athletic in 2022 and were knocked out on penalties at the semi-final stage by Tooting Bec 12 months ago. The winning goal came via an own goal just past the hour mark in front of an excellent crowd of 828. A first half of few chances saw the visitors go close after just 11 minutes when a missed cle…
