1888–89 British Home Championship

The 1888–89 British Home Championship was the sixth international football tournament between the British Home Nations and as with all but one of the previous tournaments, Scotland won, beating England by one point to take the championship. Wales achieved third place whilst Ireland finished bottom, as they had for five of the previous competitions.

1888–89 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates23 February – 27 April 1889
Teams4
Final positions
Champions Scotland (5th title)
Runners-up England
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored28 (4.67 per match)
Top scorer(s)Scotland Willie Groves
England Billy Bassett
Wales Richard Jarrett
England John Yates (3 goals)

England began the strongest team, scoring ten goals in their first two matches against Wales and Ireland for just two in reply. Scotland then showed their intent with a 7–0 defeat of Ireland at home in their first game. In what would turn out to be the deciding game of the competition, England and Scotland then played out a very fast-paced match which Scotland won 3–2 despite England's home advantage. Only needing a single point against Wales in their last match, Scotland only just achieved it, finishing with a rare scoreless draw. Ireland and Wales then played the decider for last place, Wales comfortably beating the Irish 3–1.

Table edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Scotland 3 2 1 0 10 2 +8 5
  England 3 2 0 1 12 5 +7 4
  Wales 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 3
  Ireland 3 0 0 3 2 16 −14 0
Source: [1][2]
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

Results edit

  England4–1  Wales
Johnny Goodall  
Dewhurst  
Southworth  
Bassett  
Owen  
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Campbell(Scotland)

  England6–1  Ireland
Yates      
Shelton  
Lofthouse  
Brodie  
James Wilton  
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: Alfred Davies(Wales)

  Scotland7–0  Ireland
Watt   7', 10'
Black   25'
Groves   32', 50', 70'
McInnes   88'
 
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: William H. Stacey (England)

  England2–3  Scotland
Billy Bassett   15', 17' Munro   55'
Oswald   82'
McLaren   90'
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

  Wales0–0  Scotland
   
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

  Ireland1–3  Wales
Lemon   Jarrett      
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Thomas Park (Scotland)

Winning squad edit

Name Apps/Goals by opponent Total
 
WAL[3]
 
IRE[4]
 
ENG[5]
Apps Goals
Frank Watt 1 1/2 2 2
Willie Groves 1/3 1 3
James McLaren 1/1 1 1
Jimmy Oswald 1/1 1 1
Neil Munro 1/1 1 1
Tom McInnes 1/1 1 1
David Black 1/1 1 1
Walter Arnott 1 1 0
William Berry 1 1 0
Geordie Dewar 1 1 0
James Kelly 1 1 0
Alex Latta 1 1 0
John McPherson 1 1 0
Bob Smellie 1 1 0
James Wilson 1 1 0
James Adams 1 1 0
Bob Boyd 1 1 0
John Buchanan 1 1 0
David Calderhead 1 1 0
Ned Doig 1 1 0
Thomas McKeown 1 1 0
Thomas Robertson 1 1 0
John Auld 1 1 0
Harry Campbell 1 1 0
Jimmy Hannah 1 1 0
William Johnston 1 1 0
Alexander Lochhead 1 1 0
John McLeod 1 1 0
Willie Paul 1 1 0
John Rae 1 1 0
Allan Stewart 1 1 0
Andrew Thomson 1 1 0

References edit

  1. ^ Reyes, Macario; Morrison, Neil (1 October 1999). "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. ^ "British Championships 1889". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ^ Mon 15 Apr 1889 Wales 0 Scotland 0, London Hearts Supporters Club
  4. ^ Sat 09 Mar 1889 Scotland 7 Ireland 0, London Hearts Supporters Club
  5. ^ Sat 13 Apr 1889 England 2 Scotland 3, London Hearts Supporters Club
  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.