Scotland v England (1872)

Scotland v England (1872) was the first ever official international football match to be played. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England. The match took place on 30 November 1872 at West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland. The match finished in a 0-0 draw and was watched by 4,000 spectators. cite news
title = The first international football match
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0012/index.shtml
publisher = bbc.co.uk
author = Paul Mitchell
date =
accessdate = 2007-09-23]

Background

Prior to this first official match, several unofficial matches had previously taken place which were arranged by The Football Association (FA) secretary Charles Alcock. The FA determined the venue, match officials and team selection for both sides. All players selected for the Scottish side in these early "internationals" were from the London area but had Scottish connections. Neither nation had a league championship although the FA Cup had just completed its inaugural season and the Scottish Cup would begin a year later.

In 1872, therefore Queen's Park, as Scotland's leading club, took it upon themselves to organise what has entered the history books as the first "official" international, despite the fact there was as yet no Scottish Football Association to sanction it as thus. Appropriately enough, the match was arranged for St Andrew's Day, and the West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick was selected as the venue.

The match

All eleven Scottish players were selected from Queen's Park, the leading Scottish club at this time. Scotland had hoped to obtain the services of Arthur Kinnaird of The Wanderers and Henry Renny-Tailyour of Royal Engineers but both were unavailable. The Scottish side was selected by goalkeeper and captain Robert W. Gardner. The English side was selected from nine different clubs and was selected by Charles Alcock, who himself was unable to play due to injury. The match, initially scheduled for 2pm, was delayed for 20 minutes due to fog. The 4,000 spectators paid an entry fee of a shilling, the same amount charged at the 1872 FA Cup Final.

The dark blue shirts which would become synonymous with the Scotland national team were worn on this first occasion because they were at that time the colours of Queen's Park. The English wore white shirts. The English wore caps, while the Scots wore red cowls.

The match itself contrasted the dribbling style then popular in England with the Scots' passing football, but finished goalless. On a pitch that was heavy due to the continuous rain over the previous three days, the smaller and lighter Scottish side pushed their English counterparts hard. The Scots had a goal disallowed in the first half after the umpires decided that the ball had cleared the tape which was used before crossbars were introduced. The latter part of the match saw the Scots defence under pressure by the heavier English forwards. The Scots played two full backs, two half backs and six forwards. The English played only one full back, one half back and eight forwards. Since three defenders were required for a ball played to be onside, the English system was virtually a ready-made offside trap. Scotland would come closest to winning the match when, in the closing stages, a Robert Leckie shot landed on top of the tape which was used to represent the crossbar. At some point in the game, the England goalkeeper, Robert Barker, decided to join the action outfield when he switched places with William Maynard.

Match details

footballbox
date=30 November 1872
team1=fb-rt|SCO
score=0 – 0
team2=fb|ENG
report=
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Hamilton Crescent, Partick
attendance=4,000
referee=William Keay (Scotland)

Source: RSSSF [http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/scot-intres1880.html 1] [http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-intres.html 2]

ee also

*First International Cricket Match
*First International Rugby Union Game
*England and Scotland football rivalry

References

External links

* [http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/match_details.cfm?matchid=58027 Match summary at www.scottishfa.co.uk]
* [http://www.londonhearts.com/scotland/games/18721130.html Match summary at www.londonhearts.com]
* [http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/matchstats.html?m=1 Match summary at www.thefa.com]
* [http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=1 Match summary at www.englandstats.com]
* [http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Seas1872-00/1872-73/M0001ScoAutographs.html Original autographs from 1872 found]