1899 British Home Championship

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The 1899 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. A very high scoring affair, the competition featured the highest scoreline ever achieved in the Home Championships when England defeated Ireland 13-2 in Sunderland. It was the first of two particulaly heavy defeats for the Irish side, who nevertheless still managed to finish third, courtesy of a victory over Wales.

England's win over the Ireland was the start of the tournament and placed them immediately on top of the table, a position Ireland joined them in with their 1-0 victory over Wales in the second game. Scotland began their bid for the title in the third match with a strong 6-0 win over Wales in Wrexham. Wales' poor competition was finished in their next game when England again took top position by beating them 4-0. In the penultimate game, Scotland joined England at the top of the table with a 9-1 demolition of Ireland, who had conceded 21 goals in two games but still finished third. In the deciding match, England and Scotland both played a strong game but England eventually proved stronger, winning 2-1.

[edit] Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD
England	6	3	3	0	19	3	+16
Scotland	4	3	2	1	16	3	+13
Ireland	2	3	1	2	4	22	-18
Wales	0	3	0	3	0	11	-11

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

[edit] Results

March 2, 1899	England	13–2	Ireland	Roker Park, Sunderland
	Gilbert Smith 4, Jimmy Settle 3, Steve Bloomer 2, Fred Forman 2, Frank Forman, Charlie Athersmith		Joe McAllen, James Campbell	Roker Park, Sunderland

March 4, 1899	Ireland	1–0	Wales	Grosvenor Park, Belfast
	J. Meldon			Grosvenor Park, Belfast

March 18, 1899	Wales	0–6	Scotland	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
			Bob McColl 3, John Campbell 2, Henry Marshall	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

March 20, 1899	England	4–0	Wales	Ashton Gate, Bristol
	Steve Bloomer 2, Fred Forman, Ernest Needham			Ashton Gate, Bristol

March 25, 1899	Scotland	9–1	Ireland	Celtic Park, Glasgow
	Bob McColl 3, John Campbell 2, Bob Hamilton, Alexander Christie, Jack Bell		Archie Goodall	Celtic Park, Glasgow