Victory at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games were some of the best moments for Kent's athletes this year.

Cricket has it's ups and downs and ins and outs as the Spitfires welcomed some new faces and said goodbye to some legends.

And, as the story is most years, it's never easy being a Gills fan.

Here is your round up of sport in 2018:

January

Kent Cricket at last got their man.

Former South African international bowler Allan Donald finally joined the county as assistant coach after being sought by Kent for more than a year.

The 51-year-old had been due to join Kent as assistant coach for the 2017 season but only had the Level 2 coaching qualification and needed a Level 3 in order to get a work permit.

The club also welcomed former player Paul Downton to the club, in the newly-formed role of director of cricket.

The 60-year-old former Kent, Middlesex and England wicketkeeper-batsman’s most recent role had been as managing director of the ECB but he left the post in 2015.

He said: “I’ll be responsible for the business of cricket and making us as competitive as we can be on the pitch.”

Moving away from a Kent club was Maidstone United’s Joe Pigott, who joined AFC Wimbledon after the League 1 club met the striker’s release clause.

The 24-year-old, United’s top scorer with 14 goals in league and cup, made his final appearance for his hometown club in their FA Trophy win over Heybridge.

A few miles away at Sittingbourne there was another departure as Nick Davis quit Bostik South Sittingbourne over a budget cut, although the club said they had been considering his future anyway.

Four straight league wins had Gillingham fans talking of a play-off chase.

Gills started 2018 with a 2-1 win against Charlton at the Valley on New Year’s Day. This was followed by a 3-1 success at Scunthorpe sandwiched between 2-1 home wins against Rochdale and Fleetwood.

Manager Steve Lovell boosted the squad with signings of Navid Nasseri, Franck Moussa, Rhys Murphy and Callum Reilly.

Running sensation Abel Tsegay won the Canterbury 10 mile road race for the fourth year in a row, more than two minutes ahead of his nearest challenger.

The 20-year-old Invicta East Kent AC athlete completed the road race in 51 minutes 13 seconds.

February

The exploits of Lizzy Yarnold at the Winter Olympics in South Korea provided a golden moment for the nation to cheer.

The temperature was dipping below freezing in Kent in mid-February, but the former Maidstone Grammar School for Girls pupil made light of even colder conditions in PyeongChang.

She became the first British athlete to successfully defend a Winter Olympic title when she took skeleton gold.

Yarnold put down a sensational fourth run to win by 0.45 seconds, matching her achievement of 2014 in Sochi.

She had gone into the final run 0.02sec behind leader Janine Flock but a poor finish from the Austrian saw her drop out of the medal places.

Yarnold said: “I love big occasions like this, I love stiff competition and the pressure.”

The 29-year-old from West Kingsdown was joined on the podium by team-mate Laura Deas, who took bronze on Great Britain’s most successful day ever at the Winter Games.

Meanwhile, on the same day, it was all change at Kent Cricket, with Sam Northeast going to Hampshire on a four-year deal, after being replaced in January as captain at Canterbury by wicketkeeper Sam Billings.

The 28-year-old batsman, associated with the county since he was a schoolboy, did not wish to sign a contract extension and was allowed to leave Kent despite having a year left on his deal.

The club received an undisclosed fee in compensation from Hampshire. Northeast said: “I have had a really enjoyable 10 years at Kent Cricket and I would like to wish the club and the best of luck for the future.”

Northeast was booed by Kent fans later in the summer when he faced his old county at Lord’s in the Royal London One-Day Cup final.

March

The Winter Paralympics took centre stage in March, and Canterbury’s Millie Knight did country and county proud with two silver medals in Pyeongchang.

The 18-year-old visually-impaired skiier was chosen to carry the Union Jack at the opening ceremony and the red, white and blue was seen again as, along with her guide Brett Wild, Knight came second in the women’s super G. She followed up with another silver in the downhill event.

“If you had said this would have happened to me, stood here with two silver medals, I’d have told you how crazy it was to be sat in this situation,” she said.

“This time four years ago I was watching Kelly Gallagher win her gold and I was just over the moon – I knew it would be amazing to try and be that good one day but to get two silvers on days one and two is so good.”

Broadstairs Cricket Club’s hopes of Lord’s glory were shattered for the second successive year at the Indoor National Club Championship.

After despatching the University of Exeter by 30 runs in the semi-final, Broadstairs would have fancied their chances against Worcestershire side Hagley, who were playing their first final at the home of cricket. However they rose to the occasion, limiting Broadstairs to 114-5 before winning by two wickets.

The Beast from the East played havoc with the sporting calendar, wiping out junior and senior football fixtures, rugby matches and hockey games. Even League 1 Gillingham were hit, with games against Rotherham and Blackburn rescheduled due to heavy snow and ice.

Off the field, Gills’ Max Ehmer agreed a new two-year contract taking him to the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

April

Kent gymnasts Courtney Tulloch and Georgia Mae-Fenton struck gold at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Gravesend teenager Mae-Fenton won gold in the uneven bars final, having also helped England win team silver.

Pegasus duo Tulloch and James Hall also returned with a collection of medals.

The Maidstone gymnasts further enhanced their growing reputations with a series of superb performances.

They won team gold on the opening day – England’s first gold of the Games – and continued their fine form in the individual finals.

Tulloch added gold on rings and silver on vault while Hall won silver in the all-around final and high bar.

The pair had worked with head coach Ionut Trandaburu at Pegasus Gymnastics Club since they were six-years-old.

Also on the Gold Coast, Tonbridge athlete Tom Bosworth won silver in the 20k race-walking in a national record time of 1hr 19min 38sec.

He said: “After getting disqualified while leading at the World Championships last year, it was an incredibly emotional final lap for me. So to put that to bed and win the silver is just brilliant.”

Meanwhile, Para table tennis player Ross Wilson, from Minster on Sheppey, won Commonwealth gold, taking the TT6-10 title by beating fellow Englishman Kim Daybell in the final.

Wilson said: “This is something I have always dreamed of but never thought it was possible.”

There was relief at last for Ebbsfleet who got the point they needed to make the National League play-offs, with a 1-1 draw at Torquay.

More than 350 supporters made the long journey to Devon and got their reward as Fleet clinched a top-seven finish.

At the other end of the table there was massive relief for Maidstone, who survived relegation form the National League for a second successive season. Manager Jay Saunders took the plaudits as Stones clinched survival with a 3-1 win from their penultimate game of the season, at Chester.

Aslan Odev was confirmed as Sittingbourne manager, the youngest boss in Bostik South at just 26.

May

Sittingbourne British Superbike legend Shane Byrne was involved in a horror crash in testing that wiped out his season and could yet end his career.

Shakey suffered a broken neck, ribs and vertebrae at Snetterton, requiring emergency surgery and months of rehabilitation. He later admitted that if he failed to return to fitness he would hang up his crash helmet.

Dartford manager Tony Burman left Princes Park after 14 years in the hot seat.

Burman led Darts to three promotions in five years as they climbed from Ryman League Division 1 North to the Conference Premier. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.

His resignation came after Darts lost the National League South title on goal difference.

“I feel the time is right for us as a management team to step aside and allow fresh blood to come in and take forward this great club,” said Burman.

“The last 10 years at Princes Park have been one of the most successful periods in the club’s history and I have been immensely proud of our achievements.”

Gillingham finished the League 1 season in style with a 5-2 thrashing of Plymouth – their first win in 10 games. Tom Eaves scored a hat-trick while Mark Byrne was named player-of-the-year. The Gills also announced a new sponsor for 2018/19 in Medway Council.

The month ended with some sad news for Gills fans after the death of former manager Neale Cooper, aged 54. Cooper managed the club between May and November 2005.

At the Crucible, Ditton’s Barry Hawkins reached his fifth semi-final in six years before Mark Williams ended his dream of winning the World Championship for another season.

Holcombe ladies did go all the way on the hockey pitch, lifting the EuroHockey Club Trophy in Dublin after a shoot-out win. The Rochester-based side beat Spanish side Club Junior in the final, Beth Bingham scoring the decisive goal.

June

When it comes to Kent and Lord’s finals – there has only been one outcome in recent years.

Yes, the suffering continued at St John’s Wood for at least another season as Sam Billings’ men were comfortably beaten by Hampshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup final.

Defeat by 61 runs made it eight consecutive final losses at the home of cricket and means Kent remain without a win at cricket’s headquarters since their Benson & Hedges Cup triumph 40 years ago.

To rub salt into the wound, former Kent skipper Sam Northeast made 75 not out in Hampshire’s record One-Day Cup final total of 330-7.

June was decision time for Maidstone boss Jay Saunders.

After ensuring Stones’ survival in the National League for a second successive season, Saunders turned down the chance of managing League 2 new boys Macclesfield.

Bookmakers had made the Stones boss odds-on 1/10 favourite and even suspended betting at one stage, convinced it was a done deal.

There was also a tough decision made by defender Ben Nugent, who turned down a new contract offer at Priestfield.

Gills manager Steve Lovell told the centre-back that his game-time would be limited.

Lovell did offer Nugent a new deal but with Alex Lacey fit again and pushing both Gabriel Zakuani and Max Ehmer for a start in defence, the competition looked likely to keep him out in the cold.

Nugent featured 27 times for the Gills the previous season after arriving on a free transfer from Crewe.

Midfielder Mark Byrne signed a two-year extension deal at the club, although Lovell insisted that even Gills’ 2017-18 player-of-the-year would have to fight for his place. Lovell said: “Mark had a good year but it doesn’t mean to say that he is a first pick on the teamsheet.”

July

Joe Denly excelled with bat and ball after a century and a hat-trick for Kent Spitfires against Surrey in the Vitality Blast.

Spitfires won by just six runs at the Kia Oval when at one stage Surrey looked to be easing to a comfortable victory.

“To score a hundred in T20 is always very special and to back it up with a hat-trick is even more special,” Denly said.

“I don’t think I’ve had any days like this.

“Turning up today I knew I was in good form with the bat and delighted to get the hundred. To pick one or two wickets with the ball is a bonus but a hat-trick is very special and will take a little while to sink in.”

Tom Bosworth ripped up the record books at the Anniversary Games.

The Tonbridge AC athlete clocked a world-record time of 10min43.84sec to win the 3,000m walk in London.

Going through halfway in 5.22, the Commonwealth 20km silver medallist was on track to make history and he kept his composure to cross the finish line in record time, despite the close attentions of South Africa’s Lebogang Shange.

“I thought there was going to be trouble if I got beaten but I knew the crowd would push me home in that world-class field,” he said.

“He (Shange) was fourth in London last year and I knew it was going to take a PB to win.”

It was all-change at Priestfield as Gabriel Zakuani was named Gillingham captain.

The former Democratic Republic of Congo skipper was boss Steve Lovell’s pick after Lee Martin was released.

Zakuani said: “I am proud and honoured. It’s a role I am used to, it’s nothing new, but every year I learn from other captains.

“I have my own way of dealing with players. I know who to put my arm around and who needs shouting at.

“Every time I play I will be wearing an armband but everything else stays the same. I know how to manage a dressing room.”

August

The vagaries of life as a football manager were brought into sharp contrast by the changed fortunes of Jay Saunders.

Saunders left Maidstone at the end of August by mutual consent after seven years in charge.

The club’s chief executive, Bill Williams, said: “This is a day none of us wanted to come but collectively we’ve decided to go our separate ways.”

This after Saunders had rejected the chance to join League 2 Macclesfield earlier in the summer.

In a statement following his exit, Saunders wrote: “From supporting the club as a child, to proudly wearing the shirt on the pitch, managing the Stones was a dream I never thought would come true.

“I’ve been through every emotion possible with this club, and I’m thankful for all the opportunities and the memories. I’ll never forget any of them.”

Saunders had led the Stones from Ryman South to the National League on the back of three promotions in four seasons.

Kent blew their chances of making the Vitality Blast T20 finals day at Edgbaston when they lost to Lancashire by six wickets in the quarter-finals.

After doing the hard work in the group stage, earning home advantage, Spitfires made a disastrous start at St Lawrence – opener Daniel Bell Drummond was run out off the second ball of the match, and he wasn’t even facing.

Spitfires limped to 133-9 from their 20 overs, and England player Keaton Jennings then helped the visitors to victory, making 46.

The hopes of Gills fans were raised at the start of the season following back-to-back wins.

Steve Lovell’s men made an impressive start to the campaign as first-half goals from Brandon Hanlan and Josh Parker gave Gills a 2-0 win at Accrington.

Next up was a 3-1 victory over Burton at Priestfield, with goals from Tom Eaves (2) and Luke O’Neill.

September

Kent ended an eight-year wait for top-flight County Championship cricket with a win over Glamorgan.

Zak Crawley’s 168, his maiden first-class century, and a second innings five-wicket haul for Darren Stevens gave Kent victory by an innings and 172 runs and secured promotion with a game to spare.

Skipper Sam Billings said: “The team camaraderie is like nothing else I’ve had before at Kent. It is fitting that one of our youngest players was the standout performer.

“A guy comes in in a must-win game and plays like that to get 168 in that context is outstanding and really showed his class.”

Joe Denly’s year got even better with an England Test call-up for the winter tour of Sri Lanka.

Denly’s superb season saw him score 1,729 runs, as well as taking 57 wickets with his leg-spin across all formats of the game.

His efforts won him the Professional Cricketers’ Association players’ player-of-the-year award, Kent’s player-of-the-year, PCA most valuable player, Vitality Blast player-of-the-year and Royal London One-Day Cup player-of-the-year. He was also named in the PCA team-of-the-year.

In football, Maidstone moved quickly to replace Jay Saunders by appointing former Billericay manager Harry Wheeler as their new boss.

He was joined at the Gallagher by his head coach at New Lodge Tristan Lewis and sports scientist Craig Lewis.

Wheeler said: “As a management team we’re very regimented. We’ll be well drilled and we’ll come out on a Saturday and the first thing we can promise the fans is we’ll never be outworked and we’ll give everything we’ve got.”

September was an expensive month for Gillingham as chairman Paul Scally decided to act after safety concerns over the Priestfield playing surface.

The pitch was ripped up at a cost in the region of £450,000, forcing games to be rescheduled.

Mr Scally described the surface as dangerous and revealed players from Gills and opposition teams had been injured.

He said: “After the Burton game we were concerned with some of the issues on the pitch and Nigel Clough (the Burton manager) complained to the referee at half-time that there was a problem with the pitch.

“We did some further investigation in the weeks after and found that there was a serious problem with the pitch, that there was no root growth and the roots hadn’t gone past the top surface so the pitch was unstable.”

The new pitch was made up partly of grass and part plastic, making it more hard wearing and less likely to cut up.

October

Three hundred and eight – not the number of passes completed by Gillingham in their ‘home’ Checkatrade Trophy match at The Valley against Spurs under-21s, but the number of people watching the game.

Gillingham were beaten 4-0 among the echoes at the 27,000 stadium.

They had been forced to move the game after deciding to replace the Priestfield pitch, on safety grounds.

Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi admitted Ebbsfleet United’s big spending since he bought the club had been a mistake.

Fleet’s Kuwaiti owner wanted at least four players off the wage bill after describing manager Daryl McMahon’s playing budget as “excessive”.

He insisted the club must start to live within its means rather than depending on money transfers from the Middle East.

McMahon wasn’t to last long as manager, though. The 35-year-old left by mutual consent the following month less than 18 months into the five-year contract he had signed the previous summer.

He was replaced in the Stonebridge Road hotseat by Garry Hill.

Fellow National League club Dover Athletic also fired and hired.

Chris Kinnear was shown the door after his side had achieved just one win in 14 games.

It brought to an end Kinnear’s second spell in charge at Crabble, having taken charge again in January 2013. He was previously manager from 1985 to 1995.

Dover turned to another former manager as his replacement.

Andy Hessenthaler signed at Crabble after leaving Dover’s National League rivals Eastleigh.

Hessenthaler had left Dover in May 2010 to take the manager’s job at Gillingham.

Lizzy Yarnold, Great Britain’s most successful Winter Olympian, announced her retirement from competitive sport.

The double Olympic skeleton champion, a former pupil at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, said she would not attempt to defend her title at Beijing 2022.

Ross Wilson backed up his Commonwealth gold medal success of earlier in the year by clinching another gold, this time at the World Table Tennis Championships.

The 23-year-old from Sheppey beat China’s double Paralympic champion Zhao Shuai.

Kent’s Jake Dixon finished runner-up to Leon Haslam in the British Superbike Championship .

Fellow Kent rider Brad Ray was sixth.

Four-time Canterbury 10-mile race winner Abel Tsegay proved himself on a bigger stage. He produced a stunning half-marathon debut by storming to victory in Amsterdam.

The 22-year-old Eritrean was making his competitive debut over the distance and led home a 1,200-strong field in a time of 67minutes 50seconds.

November

International table tennis came to Medway.

Teenager Charlotte Bardsley shone on her senior debut to inspire England women to a 3-0 victory over Greece at Medway Park.

But, in a double-header of European Championships Stage 1 matches, England men were 3-1 defeated by Serbia.

In the FA Cup, Maidstone caused an upset while Gillingham narrowly avoided one.

Stones forgot their National League struggles to come from a goal down to knock League 2 Macclesfield out of the first round proper.

United trailed to Ben Stephens’ opener after a poor first-half display but they stormed back after the break thanks to Jack Powell’s brilliant free-kick and a Blair Turgott penalty, winning £36,000 in prize money.

“It was a fantastic response,” said boss Harry Wheeler.

“I’m not taking the credit for everything at half-time – there’s players in there who got involved and did the right things – but it was a fantastic response and again it’s showing they’ve got that mentality to come back.”

Gills have had their fair share of knocks in the cup and National League Hartlepool almost joined the list of conquerors of Steve Lovell’s side.

After a goalless draw at Priestfield, Carl Magnay and Paddy McLaughlin left the Gills two goals down at the break in the replay.

Max Ehmer pulled a goal back shortly after the restart but the Gills were seconds away from elimination before Tom Eaves’ stoppage-time penalty took the tie into extra-time.

Goals from Luke O’Neill and Elliott List put the Gills 4-2 in front but Hartlepool’s Tyrone O’Neill struck with seven minutes left to ensure a tense finish.

Lovell said: “I am just happy we are through. I’m delighted, because it’s a banana skin going to these places.

“You are up against it, expected to win and sometimes it is hard but the boys showed so much character.”

November also saw Gills open contract talks with top scorer Eaves, who is out of contract next summer.

“There’s no way that any club will want to get rid of their top scorer,” said Lovell. “We want him to stay here for as long as he wants to.”

December

Further adjustments were made at Kent Cricket, with interim chief executive Ben Green leaving the county.

Green had been in the interim role since February 2018 after joining the club in 2017 as operations director.

The previous month Simon Storey was brought in as the new CEO of Kent with Green appointed as chief operating officer.

Ebbsfleet goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore revealed that abuse from the terraces made him consider walking off the pitch during a game.

Ashmore has been subjected to vile chants from opposition supporters at several matches this season.

Ashmore said: “It’s been hard this year, harder than ever.

“It’s very personal – I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Some of the stuff I get called is sickening.

“There’s only so many things you can take and it’s pushed me to the edge this season.

“At one game this season, I did fall out of love with the game and I did not want to play at all.

“I actually wanted to walk off the pitch because the abuse I was getting wasn’t nice at all. That’s how I felt. I’m a very passionate and honest guy but that really did hurt me deeply.”

Ashmore was in court last month to see the Eastleigh fan who racially abused him banned from his club and fined by magistrates.

But the following day he was abused again, at Boreham Wood, and jumped into the home end after the full-time whistle.

He said: “I reacted for the first time in my career. I’m not one to let it affect me but this time it did.”

The FA are investigating the incident.

The manager merry-go-round continued in the county with former Sittingbourne boss Nick Davis taking on the role at Ramsgate, following Lloyd Blackman’s decision to leave Southwood.

Blackman had taken on the manager’s job at the Bostik South East club in January 2017 .

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally hit out at the critics who he believes are damaging the club.

Mr Scally issued a lengthy statement, largely in response to concerns from sponsors over what he described as ‘the unfair and unacceptable behaviour of a minority of fans.’

Scotland giants Rangers are believed to be tracking Gillingham striker Tom Eaves ahead of the January transfer window.

The Gills centre-forward is top scorer in League 1 with 14 goals.

In the boxing ring, Louis Greene was unsuccessful in his bid for IBF European welterweight title at York Hall.

The 26-year-old from Strood, dubbed the Medway Mauler, was beaten by defending champion Larry Ekundayo, who won with ringside scores of 100-89, 98-91, and 99-90.