Apparently the goalkeeper "played quite well". But he spent much of it picking the ball out of the back of the net - 39 times to be precise.

The Division 4 match in the Rochester & District League saw goals galore with Brompton Athletic beating Kedan 39-0 with one player one short of a triple hat-trick. The record for a senior football match is 36-0 in 1885.

The losers did have a reasonable excuse, playing with seven men but were shown no mercy by their opponents with the goals rattling on a regular basis.

Kedan manager Ian Thomas claims there were "no hard feelings" despite seeing his side beaten 39-0 in their game against Brompton Athletic in Division 4 of the Rochester & District League on Saturday.

The home team played with just seven men at Luton Rec, Gillingham, and were unfortunate to come up against a promotion-chasing side seeking to boost their goal difference.

Thomas claims the result highlights the need for new players to boost the club in the hope of a new year revival.

Kedan are second-bottom with four points from their nine games and now have a goal difference of minus 90 while Brompton lead the division on goal difference after the thumping win, with one point separating the top three sides.

Under Rochester & District League rules teams can only fulfil a fixture with seven players, and Mr Thomas revealed: “We had six players there and we managed to get another to turn up.

“We did think about telling him to keep walking, but that’s not the way we do things – the club have won awards for sportsmanship.

“We didn’t want to waste anyone’s time and we didn’t want the opposition, who were all there, to leave empty handed.”

Kedan managed to keep Athletic at bay for the opening four minutes but once the opener arrived, they kept coming and eventually six Brompton players had claims on the match-ball.

Matt Barnden scored eight, Lewis Haylor and Scott Ferguson seven apiece, James Hartnoll four and George Smyth and Dan Elliot three each as the visitors showed no mercy.

Thomas claimed: “The guy who played in goal actually did well, even though he took a pounding. He had plenty to do but he made some good saves.

“It was unfortunate but the game was played in the right way – there were no bookings or sendings-off, nothing like that.

“They are going well at the top of the league and obviously need the goals because they want to go up next season. They weren’t nasty about it and were encouraging our guys.

“It’s just one of those things. We desperately need some new players to come in in the new year.”

Anyone interested in joining the side can call Mr Thomas on 07951 060034.