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

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TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
 Scotland3210102+85
 England3201125+74
 Wales311145−13
 Ireland3003216−140
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

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 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

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NameApps/Goals by opponentTotal

WAL[3]

IRE[4]

ENG[5]
AppsGoals
Frank Watt11/222
Willie Groves1/313
James McLaren1/111
Jimmy Oswald1/111
Neil Munro1/111
Tom McInnes1/111
David Black1/111
Walter Arnott110
William Berry110
Geordie Dewar110
James Kelly110
Alex Latta110
John McPherson110
Bob Smellie110
James Wilson110
James Adams110
Bob Boyd110
John Buchanan110
David Calderhead110
Ned Doig110
Thomas McKeown110
Thomas Robertson110
John Auld110
Harry Campbell110
Jimmy Hannah110
William Johnston110
Alexander Lochhead110
John McLeod110
Willie Paul110
John Rae110
Allan Stewart110
Andrew Thomson110

References

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  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.