1896 British Home Championship

The 1896 British Home Championship was an edition of the annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. Despite England achieving an almost record 9–1 victory over Wales, the trophy was won by Scotland who won two and drew one of their matches, the draw coming in a hard-fought duel with Ireland.

Wales and Ireland kicked off the tournament with the Welsh heavily defeating the Irish in Wrexham. England too beat the Irish in their opening game, although by a smaller scoreline and England then achieved their 9–1 victory over Wales with Steve Bloomer scoring five, an England record. Scotland too beat Wales, scoring four without reply before being held by the Irish in an exciting and close match. In the final game at Celtic Park, England and Scotland played for the trophy, England only needing adraw whilst the Scots required a win to take the tournament. In a close and dramatic game, Scotland narrowly beat the English 2–1 and won the championship.

Table

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Scotland 5 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5
 England 4 3 2 0 1 12 3 +9
 Wales 2 3 1 0 2 7 14 −7
 Ireland 1 3 0 1 2 4 11 −7

The points system worked as follows:

Results


29 February 1896
Wales  6 – 1  Ireland Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
William Lewis 2, Billy Meredith 2, David Pugh, Grenville Morris A. Turner

7 March 1896
Ireland  0 – 2  England Solitude Ground, Belfast
  Gilbert Smith, Steve Bloomer

16 March 1896
Wales  1 – 9  England Arms Park, Cardiff
Thomas Chapman Steve Bloomer 5, Gilbert Smith 2, Billy Bassett, Johnny Goodall

21 March 1896
Scotland  4 – 0  Wales Carolina Port, Dundee
Robert Neil 2, Alexander Keillor, Daniel Paton  

28 March 1896
Ireland  3 – 3  Scotland Solitude Ground, Belfast
James Barron 2, Robert Milne (P) Bob McColl 2, Patrick Murray

4 April 1896
Scotland  2 – 1  England Celtic Park, Glasgow
William Lambie, Jack Bell Billy Bassett

References

  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.