Home Internationals
1968/69 - 1983/84
Home Internationals
1968/69 - 1983/84
The first British Home Championship was contested during the early months
of 1884 as a four team group settled over the course of six fixtures (each
nation playing each other once), the same format continued to be employed
throughout the tournament's one hundred year existence. Nations finishing
level on points would share the final position until goal-difference/goals-scored
came in to play in 1979. The 1969 tournament saw the competition revert
back to a pre-First World War arrangement whereby all the fixtures were
played at the end of the season rather than (mostly) during it.
From 1950/51, Irish interest was no longer represented by a unified
eleven, yet although FIFA insisted that the IFA team should now be known
as 'Northern Ireland', they were allowed to play on as 'Ireland' in Home
Internationals until the late 1970's*. In 1981, tensions in Ulster led
to the competition being declared void after England and Wales refused
to play in Belfast. Two years later, following persistent hooligan problems,
declining attendance's and a shift in priorites, England and Scotland announced
that they no longer wished to take part and 1984 saw the tournament come
to an end.
*To avoid confusion I'll refer to the IFA team as 'Northern Ireland' from this point onwards.
<<< Home Internationals on TV 1955/56 - 1967/68
Games covered by ITV are in white, those exclusive
to the BBC or non-televised matches are in grey.
1969
Sat 03/May/1969 Wales 3 (R.Davies 2, Toshack) Scotland
5 (McNeill, Stein, Gilzean, Bremner, McLean)
Wrexham
ITV Highlights (LIVE on LWT & HARLECH WALES)
Barry Davies
*This was the last year in which
television coverage of the Home Internationals was in black & white.
ITV viewers in London enjoyed far superior coverage of the opening Saturday
fixtures than the rest of the country who had to rely on the BBC (for whom
David Coleman commentated) or make do with Saturday night highlights at
10:40pm-12:15am, the exception was Harlech's Welsh service who also showed
the Wales match live. LWT showed an exclusive "Big Match Special: On The
Ball" at 12:30-12:55pm before "World of Sport" (which the other regions
either left at 2:30pm or didn't show at all). Live coverage of the football
began at 2:45pm and London viewers also saw highlights the following afternoon.
Billy McNeill (on 12 mins) and Colin Stein (on 16) gave the Scots an early
2 goal lead, but the Welsh were level by half-time thanks to Ron Davies
on 29 and John Toshack on 44, Alan Gilzean restored the Scots lead on 55
but only for Ron Davies to equalise again on 57, Billy Bremner put Scotland
ahead once more to make it 4-3 on 72, Thomas McLean of Kilmarnock killed
the game off on 87. Those inside the ground witnessed the extraordinary
sight of a temporary TV operations platform which had been built on scaffolding
directly in front of the Main stand which obliterated the view of those
sat in it (including the press box).
Sat 03/May/1969 Northern Ireland 1
(McMordie) England 3 (Peters, Lee, Hurst(pen))
Belfast
ITV Highlights (LIVE on LWT)
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill *Hugh
Johns may have voiced the Saturday night highlights
*As with the afternoon Wales/Scotland
game, live ITV coverage was exclusive to those watching in London, the
rest of the country could wait for ITV highlights at 10:40pm-12:15am or
watch it live on BBC1 (from 7:15pm with Ken Wolstenholme commentating,
Coleman flew in from Wrexham to present). LWT coverage began at 7pm with
another "Big Match Special" starting with "On The Ball" at 7-7:25pm before
live coverage of the game at 7:25-9:20pm. LWT showed highlights on
"The Big Match" on Sunday afternoon at 3:00-3:50pm. England manager Alf
Ramsey admitted that the Irish were unlucky to lose 3-1, N.Ireland boss
Billy Bingham cited Francis Lee as being the difference between the two
sides. Indeed it was Lee who was involved in all three England goals, his
quick free-kick on on 34 caught the Irish defence off guard as Martin Peters
raced through to head home for 1-0, the Irish equalised on 62 after a bicycle
kick by George Best was kept out by Peters only for Eric McMordie to run
it back into the net, but a minute later Alan Ball's pass found Lee who
ran across the face of the goal before firing past Jennings for 2-1. On
74 Lee was brought down by Neill in the box and Geoff Hurst scored from
the spot kick to make it 3-1.
Tue 06/May/1969 Scotland 1 (Stein)
Northern Ireland 1 (McMordie)
Hampden
ITV Highlights (LIVE on SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN
only)
?????
*BBC1 showed this live from
7:50-9:45pm (Ken Wolstenholme), viewers in Scotland had the choice of watching
it live on ITV from 7:45pm (probably with their own commentator) whilst
the rest of the country could see ITV highlights at 11:15pm-12:15am. Eric
McMordie gave the visitors the lead on 11 minutes, Colin Stein equalised
on 53. George Best had what looked like a perfectly good goal disallowed.
Wed 07/May/1969 England 2 (R.Charlton,
Lee) Wales 1 (R.Davies)
Wembley
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 had exclusive live coverage
of this fixture from 7:30-9:45pm (David Coleman), ITV showed highlights
at 10:45pm-12:10am. Wales took the lead in the 17th minute when a cross
from Rodrigues was headed in by Ron Davies, four minutes later England
debutant Jeff Astle had the ball in the net but the referee had already
blown for a penalty after Rodrigues had handled, Francis Lee took the spot
kick but hit the crossbar. England were much improved in the 2nd half and
equalised on 58 through a Bobby Charlton effort, then on 70 a Colin Bell
cross found Astle who's header was cleared off the line but the ball ran
to Lee who was able to prod home from close range for 2-1.
Sat 10/May/1969 Northern Ireland
0 Wales 0
Belfast
ITV Highlights (LIVE on LWT & HARLECH WALES)
?????
*There was a similar TV arrangement
to the previous weekend with most ITV regions (except LWT and HARLECH WALES)
only showing highlights at 10:45pm-12:15am, but all viewers could watch
the game live on BBC1's "Grandstand", LWT had another exclusive "Big Match
Special: On The Ball" at 12:30-12:55pm and (along with Wales) live coverage
of the afternoon match which kicked off at 3pm, it was preceded by a tribute
to league champions Leeds United.
Sat 10/May/1969 England 4 (Peters
2, Hurst 2(1pen)) Scotland 1 (Stein)
Wembley
ITV Highlights (LIVE on LWT, SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN)
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill *Hugh
Johns voiced the Saturday night highlights
*The final fixture of the tournament
kicked off at 7:30pm with Scotland needing a win to deny England first
place, but the hosts were in top form. BBC1 showed live coverage at 7:00-9:15pm
(David Coleman with Brian Clough & Jock Stein also involved), live
pictures on ITV with Brian Moore commentating were restricted to the London
area and Scotland, "Big Match Special" began with an "On The Ball" sequence
at 7pm with coverage scheduled to end at 9:50pm, Joe Mercer, Jimmy Greaves
and Pat Crerand were on the panel (Scotland probably had their own commentary
and presentation), the other ITV regions had highlights at 10:45pm-12:15am
with Hugh Johns commentating. Martin Peters put England ahead on 16, Geoff
Hurst added a 2nd on 20. Colin Stein headed in debut boy Eddie Gray's centre
to put the Scots back in the match just before half-time on 43. England
won a hotly disputed penalty on the hour as Peters and Greig fell to the
ground simultaneously as they went for a rebound in front of an open goal,
Geoff Hurst converted to make it 3-1, Martin Peters secured the championship
for England (and their first victory over Scotland since winning the World
Cup) with the 4th goal on 64 minutes. LWT showed Sunday afternoon highlights
on "The Big Match" at 3-3:50pm, SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN also had their
own Sunday highlights programmes. The England squad then set off for a
short tour of the America's designed to prepare them for the defence of
next summer's World Cup, a tournament that Scotland and N.Ireland still
had a good chance of qualifying for.
Final table
1. England 6
2. Scotland 3
3. N.Ireland 2
4. Wales 1
1970
The 1969/70 season saw world champions England begin a series of unbeaten friendly matches in November, by which time Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had all failed to qualify for Mexico '70. The Home Internationals in April may not have been ideal preparation for the defence of the World Cup, but they would at least provide England with some competitive fixtures for which the domestic league season had been scheduled to end early in order to accommodate them. Sadly the affects of television coverage on attendances during the previous tournament had forced a re-think and none of the 1970 games would be shown live, not even the Auld Enemy clash.
Sat 18/Apr/1970 Wales 1 (Kryzwicki) England 1 (Lee)
Cardiff
ITV Delayed Coverage
Brian Moore
*The opening pair of fixtures
both kicked off at 3pm with ITV and the BBC previewing the games at lunchtime
("On The Ball" went out at 1-1:25pm). BBC1 were first to show any action
from the tournament in a "Match of the Day" programme at 7:30-9pm which
only showed Wales v England, the length of the slot therefore suggests
that they showed virtually the whole match, it was also the first time
a Home International was broadcast in colour. Dick Kryzwicki gave Wales
a HT lead with a goal on 40 after latching on to a through ball from Alan
Durban and placing a shot wide of Gordon Banks, Wales hit the crossbar
in the 2nd half before Francis Lee equalised on 70 mins with a fierce shot
from the edge of the box on the left. ITV showed highlights of this game
the following afternoon, times varied by region (ATV had their own "Star
Soccer" presentation).
Sat 18/Apr/1970 Northern Ireland 0 Scotland 1 (O'Hare)
Belfast
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*ITV showed colour highlights
of this fixture on Saturday night at 11:10-midnight, except SCOTTISH, GRAMPIAN
and ULSTER who all showed it an hour earlier (probably with a different
commentator and their own presentation) whilst HTV opted out altogether.
The only goal of the game was scored by John O'Hare on his international
debut on 58 mins. George Best was sent off on 64 for spitting and throwing
mud at the referee. BBC footage has David Coleman commentating, but it's
not clear when this was shown.
Tue 21/Apr/1970 England 3 (R.Charlton,
Hurst, Peters) Northern Ireland 1 (Best)
Wembley
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*Tuesday night coverage was
exclusive to BBC1 who showed a recording on "International Match of the
Day" scheduled for 10-11:30pm (David Coleman commentating). Martin Peters
headed in a Bobby Charlton corner to open the scoring on 6 mins, George
Best equalised early in the 2nd half on 50 after racing onto a long ball
and beating club mate Nobby Stiles before a neat finish past Banks, Geoff
Hurst restored England's lead six minutes later with a deflected header
from a cross by Newton and on 81 minutes Bobby Charlton scored on his 100th
international appearance (netting an England goal for the 13th consecutive
season) with an untypical effort from close range whilst falling to the
ground as Pat Jennings failed to deal with a centre from Emlyn Hughes.
Wed 22/Apr/1970 Scotland 0 Wales 0
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Arthur Montford & Alex Cameron
*ITV coverage at 10:30pm-12:15am.
(Yorkshire TVTimes lists Scottish commentators).
Sat 25/Apr/1970 Scotland 0 England 0
Hampden
ITV Delayed Coverage
Brian Moore
*Both BBC1 and ITV showed preview
sequences on their respective Saturday afternoon sport packages but viewers
had to wait until the evening to see the afternoon's action. The winners
of this match would have won the trophy outright, but an attendance of
137,438 saw the first goalless draw between Scotland and England since
the very first fixture between the two countries 98 years earlier. Although
England had the better goal difference, this did not come into play and
the draw meant that Scotland would finish joint top - On the strength of
this match it was a position the Scots fully deserved as they were clearly
the better side, they were denied a clear penalty in the 20th minute and
might have had another near the end. England had the ball in the net at
the death but it was ruled out for offside. ITV showed a recording of the
game from 7:15-9pm with viewers in Scotland probably having their own commentator/presentation.
BBC1 showed highlights of both games on "Match of the Day" at 9:15-10:45pm
(Ken Wolstenholme). Surprisingly there were no Sunday afternoon highlights
on ITV.
Sat 25/Apr/1970 Wales 1 (Rees)
Northern Ireland 0
Swansea
*A winning goal by Ronnie Rees,
coupled with the result at Hampden, meant that Wales shared the trophy
with England and Scotland. Highlights were included on the Saturday night
"Match of the Day" on BBC1, Barry Davies commentated and David Coleman
presented.
Final table
1. England 4
1. Wales
4
1. Scotland 4
4. N.Ireland 0
1971
1971 was not a happy year for Scottish football, the 2nd Ibrox disaster* was followed by two key defeats for the national team in the qualifiers for Euro 72, then came a very poor showing in the Home Internationals (which saw Scotland finish in last place) and two further defeats in June. Having scored just twice in 10 matches and only managing to achieve a solitary draw in their last 7 games, Scotland manager Bobby Brown ultimately lost his job in July. Northern Ireland boss Billy Bingham also departed the home nations scene in 1971 to manage Greece, but he left on a relative high with victories over both Scotland and Wales to finish 2nd. Wales failed to score a single goal in the tournament but still came away from Wembley with a point. Happily, live TV coverage of the Auld Enemy fixture was restored with both channels showing it as it happened. Despite the home draw with Wales, England won the tournament outright and looked to be well on course to progress in the European Championships.
*On 2nd January 1971, 66 people (including many children) died and over 200 were injured in a crush at the end of a clash between Rangers and Celtic after barriers on a stairway gave way. The first Ibrox disaster had occurred in 1902 during a Scotland v England match, 26 people died and over 500 were injured when a section of terracing collapsed.
Sat
15/May/1971 Northern Ireland 0 England 1 (Clarke)
Belfast
ITV Delayed Coverage
Brian Moore
*Both opening games of the tournament
kicked off at 3pm, ITV showed delayed coverage of the whole N.Ireland/England
clash at 7:15-9pm (in all regions including Scotland), the match is now
famous for an incident in which George Best snatched control of the ball
from under the nose of Gordon Banks whilst the England goalkeeper was in
the process of launching a drop kick up field, Best proceeded to chase
the ball into the back of the net, but the referee (somewhat harshly) ruled
out the goal for dangerous play. Banks was subject to some rough treatment
throughout the afternoon including bottles thrown from the crowd after
England had scored a controversial goal, his team-mates claimed they had
never seen Banks so annoyed in the dressing room afterwards. N.Ireland
felt they were robbed - Aside from the Best incident, they forced Banks
into making three brilliant saves and Bryan Hamilton also hit the crossbar,
whilst England's 2nd half goal should have been ruled out when Francis
Lee clearly hand-balled before setting up Allan Clarke to score. Paul Madeley
made his England debut. BBC1 showed highlights on "Match of the Day" with
David Coleman commentating.
Sat 15/May/1971 Wales 0 Scotland
0
Cardiff
BBC Highlights
*"Match of the Day" highlights
at 10-11:30pm. Played on a waterlogged pitch.
Tue 18/May/1971 Scotland 0 Northern
Ireland 1 (Greig(og))
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*Highlights were shown at 10:30-11:30pm
as "The Home Internationals 1971". An own goal by John Greig on 14 minutes
handed Northern Ireland the points.
Wed 19/May/1971 England 0 Wales 0
Wembley
BBC Highlights
*"Sportsnight With Coleman",
9:50-11:20pm. An historic night for Wales who avoided defeat at Wembley
for the first time whilst England were given slow-handclaps by their own
fans. Lee had a goal disallowed because another player was standing in
an offside position. Larry Lloyd made his England debut.
Sat 22/May/1971 England 3 (Chivers
2, Peters) Scotland 1 (Curran)
Wembley
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore
*Live coverage was broadcast
on both ITV and BBC1 (David Coleman) on their respective Saturday afternoon
Sports programmes "World of Sport" and "Grandstand", ITV had a short "On
The Ball" at 12:40-12:55pm and then concentrated on the football from 2:35pm
with Jimmy Hill, Malcolm Allison, Pat Crerand and Bob McNab on the panel.
Martin Peters opened the scoring on 9 despite the ball appearing not to
cross the line - but a Scottish defender clearly handled to prevent it
hitting the back of the net. Two minutes later Hugh Curran of Wolves equalised
for Scotland after racing onto a weak back header by Alan Ball. Martin
Chivers made it 2-1 on 30 mins by firing in a shot after some clumsy Scottish
defending, and the same player lobbed in another on 40 to give England
a 3-1 HT lead, and that's the way it stayed with Chivers denied a hat-trick
after a 2nd half effort was ruled out for offside. Scotland fans chanted
"Brown Must Go", Alf Ramsey said "This was not only one of the finest England
performances of my time, but one of the best matches I have ever seen".
Some ITV regions showed "Star Soccer" on Sunday afternoon at 2:15-3:15pm
(and this edition is archived, possibly with Hugh Johns commentating),
Granada appear to have had their own presentation but, surprisingly, there
were no highlights on LWT.
Sat 22/May/1971 Northern Ireland
1 (Hamilton) Wales 0
Belfast
BBC Highlights
*Highlights were included on
"Match of the Day" at 10-11:15pm along with England v Scotland (Ken Wolstenholme
was billed as the commentator in Belfast, but he did the ECWC replay in
Athens the previous night, so perhaps it was Barry Davies). Northern Ireland
claimed 2nd place thanks to a first half goal by Bryan Hamilton.
Final table
1. England 5
2. N.Ireland 4
3. Wales
2
4. Scotland 1
1972
With no home nation taking part in the final stages of Euro 72 in Belgium, and the World Cup qualifiers yet to start, all four British teams should have been able to focus their undivided attention on this year's Home Internationals, but following an alarming escalation of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland in January, the Scottish FA received death threats and it was decided that the Northern Ireland v Scotland fixture would have to be played at Hampden instead - thus the Scots would play all three of their games at home, whilst the Irish would play all of theirs away. Tommy Docherty had initially taken the Scotland manager's job on a trial basis at the beginning of the season and, although it was impossible for Scotland to qualify the Quarter-finals of Euro 72, he had impressed enough to earn a long term contract. Northern Ireland employed the services of Terry Neill in a part time role as player/manager, a position he also held at Hull City, and (after losing the services of George Best who had failed to turn up for training and ended up holidaying Spain amid rumours that he had quit football for good) it was Neill who would score the winning goal at Wembley just ten days after Alf Ramsey's England had been knocked out of Euro 72 at the two-leg Quarter-final stage to West Germany. The Welsh had failed to score a single goal in the previous Home International tournament and suffered the same goalless embarrassment in 1972, whilst Scotland made the extra home game advantage tell and went into the final game needing only to avoid defeat against England at Hampden to claim the trophy outright for the first time since 1967, but Alan Ball's goal was enough to ensure that the title was shared. Northern Ireland, despite the victory against England and a draw in Wales, had to settle for 3rd place. On a television debate, BBC panellists Don Revie and Joe Mercer insisted that the tournament should revert back to being played during the season, and not at the end when the players were stale and tired.
Sat 20/May/1972 Wales 0 England 3 (Hughes, Marsh,
Bell)
Cardiff
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill
*ITV showed most of the 3pm kick off at 7:00-8:30pm.
It was a convincing victory for England in which Malcolm MacDonald won
his first cap - Emlyn Hughes gave them the lead on 25 and two goals in
a minute followed in the 2nd half, Rodney Marsh volleyed home on 69 and
Colin Bell then lobbed Gary Sprake for 3-0. BBC1 included highlights on
"International Match of the Day" at 10:00-11:15pm (Barry Davies commentating),
ATV produced "Star Soccer" highlights (possibly voiced by Hugh Johns) for
the Sunday afternoon audience in the Midlands, HTV, Westward, Channel and
Grampian areas at 2:15-3:15pm, LWT may have had highlights on their Sunday
afternoon show "Sportsworld '72" at the same time which was also taken
by Granada, Southern & Border.
Sat 20/May/1972 Scotland 2 (Law,
Lorimer) Northern Ireland 0
Hampden
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*Highlights were included on
the Saturday night "Match of the Day" on BBC1. Scotland won the match with
two late goals, Peter Lorimer crossed for Denis Law to make it 1-0 on 86,
three minutes later Law returned the favour to set up Lorimer to find the
net for goal number 2.
Tue 23/May/1972 England 0 Northern
Ireland 1 (Neill)
Wembley
BBC Highlights
Barry Davies
*Shown on "Sportsnight With
Coleman", BBC1, 10:05-11:35pm. Under pressure to field younger players,
Alf Ramsey gave Colin Todd and Tony Currie their debuts in a side that,
for the first time since 1966, didn't include any member of the World Cup
winning XI, but Terry Neill netted the only goal after 33 mins from Danny
Hogan's corner to give Northern Ireland their first win against England
since 1957.
Wed 24/May/1972 Scotland 1 (Lorimer) Wales 0
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*Networked highlights on ITV at 10:30-11:25pm (except
SCOTTISH who had an extended programme to show both this match and the
European Cup Winners Cup final between Glasgow Rangers and Moscow Dynamo
at 10:30pm-12:35am). Jimmy Hill chaired the panel in London whch comprised
Malcolm Allison, Derek Dougan, Bob McNab and Paddy Crerand. Peter Lorimer
scored the only goal on 72 mins with a rocket drive - minutes after missing
a sitter. Lou Macari came on as a sub to make his Scotland debut.
Sat 27/May/1972 Wales 0 Northern
Ireland 0
Wrexham
BBC Highlights
?John Motson?
*BBC1 included highlights on
"International Match of the Day" at 10:25-11:55pm, BBC1 Wales may have
had their own presentation that gave more air-time to this fixture than
Scotland v England.
Sat 27/May/1972 Scotland 0 England 1 (Ball)
Hampden
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill
*The centenary of this fixture, live on both ITV and
BBC1 with each showing their half-hour preview sequence shortly before
1pm and both scheduled to join Hampden at 2:35pm, Malcolm Allison, Pat
Crerand, Derek Dougan and Bob McNab were on the panel for ITV (Barry Davies
commentated for BBC1). England '66 heroes Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and
Alan Ball were back in the team for a highly charged competitive encounter
and it was Alan Ball who scored the only goal on 28mins after Bell and
Chivers had combined to set up the scoring chance, the win meant that England
shared the trophy with the Scots. BBC1 had Saturday night highlights on
"International Match of the Day", ATV produced a "Star Soccer" for Sunday
afternoon at 2:15-3:15pm (shown in the Midlands, HTV, Westward, Channel
& Grampian regions with possibly Hugh Johns commentating), LWT may
have included highlights on "Sportworld '72" which was also taken by Granada,
Southern and Border. Sadly, the match turned out to be Gordon Banks' 73rd
and final England game before a car accident on 22nd October 1972 resulted
in the loss of sight in his right eye which forced Banks to retire.
Final table
1. England 4
1. Scotland 4
3. N.Ireland 3
4. Wales
1
1973
The 1973 Home Internationals saw both England manager Sir Alf Ramsey
and Wales boss Dave Bowen publicly condemn the timing of the tournament
"at the end of a hard season with the players jaded" and the matches clashing
with the European finals. After a pair of dull and poorly attended opening
games, of which ITV had already decided not to bother screening Sunday
highlights, one newspaper headline pleaded "NOW WRAP IT UP AND BURY IT
- This Festival Bores The Pants Off Everyone". England
and Wales had already met twice during the course of the 1972/73 season
and Scotland had also entertained England again at Hampden since the previous
tournament - Wales had been drawn in same World Cup qualifying group as
England and earned a shock 1-1 draw at Wembley after losing the home game
1-0 in Cardiff, whilst Scotland had arranged a fixture against the Auld
enemy on a freezing cold night in February to celebrate the centenary of
the Scottish FA, this was also Willie Ormond's first match as manager following
the departure of Tommy Docherty to Manchester United in December, but England
won 5-0! Scotland's revival under Docherty had apparently been put into
reverse as a poor run of results were recorded over the summer months,
a 3rd place finish in the Home Internationals was quickly followed by friendly
defeats to Switzerland and Brazil.
Northern Ireland were now having to play their
'home' matches on mainland Britain, Everton's Goodison Park was selected
as their venue for the Home Internationals and the Irish partially made
up for World Cup qualifying disappointments with a 2nd place finish. Incredibly,
Wales would make it three tournaments in a row without scoring a single
goal - this time failing to even pick up a goalless draw. Three straight
victories for England should have been an ideal confidence boost for the
World Cup qualifier in Poland on 6th June, at this stage it appeared that
England would still be the most likely home nation to represent British
interest in next year's World Cup finals.
Sat 12/May/1973 Northern Ireland
1 (Clements) England 2 (Chivers 2)
Goodison Park
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*ITV showed a lengthy edit of
the 3pm kick-off at 7:30-9pm. BBC1 showed highlights of both opening games
on "Match of the Day" with Barry Davies their commentator at Goodison.
Jack Charlton was on the ITV panel in the London studio together with regulars
Jimmy Hill, Malcolm Allison, Derek Dougan and Pat Crerand. Terry Neill's
57th cap beat the record he had shared with Billy Bingham and Danny Blanchflower
but both Dougan (on ITV) and Clough (BBC) singled out Neill as Northern
Ireland's weak link. David Nish and John Richards made their England debuts
(For Richards - who was played out of position - this proved to be his
one and only cap). Martin Chivers headed in a free-kick on 9 minutes, Dave
Clements equalised from the penalty spot on 22 after Storey was harshly
judged to have fouled Morgan, Martin Chivers grabbed the winner (and his
2nd) on 83 after Neill had failed to clear.
Sat 12/May/1973 Wales 0 Scotland
2 (Graham 2)
Wrexham
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*BBC1's "Match of the Day" (10:00-11:30pm)
was presented by David Coleman with Bobby Charlton, Brian Clough, Don Revie
& Jock Stein on the panel. Scotland played in white shirts (apparently
at the request of the BBC) and gave debuts to Goalkeeper Peter McCloy,
Danny McGrain, Jim Holton, Derek Johnstone and Derek Parlane. Both goals
in this poor match were scored by George Graham, firstly by following up
a saved free-kick on 17 and then on 83 he stopped and controlled Morgan's
low shot to cooly slot home for 2-0.
Tue 15/May/1973 England 3 (Chivers,
Channon, Peters) Wales 0
Wembley
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 showed highlights at 10:10-11:10pm.
It was a much better performance from England, Martin Chivers volleyed
them ahead on 24, Mick Channon latched onto a through ball on 32 to make
it 2-0 and Channon had another goal ruled out for offside before HT. Martin
Peters shot from the edge of the area on 75 for 3-0. The Wembley attendance
was only 38,000.
Wed 16/May/1973 Scotland 1 (Dalglish)
Northern Ireland 2 (O'Neill, Anderson)
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*ITV showed highlights at 10:30-11:30pm
with a panel of Hill, Allison, Dougan and Jack Charlton. Martin O'Neill
scored from close range on 3 mins, Sammy Morgan then hit the post before
Trevor Anderson made it 2-0 on 16, Kenny Dalglish netted a late consolation
for Scotland on 89.
Sat 19/May/1973 England 1 (Peters)
Scotland 0
Wembley
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Jimmy Hill
*Just a short 10 minute "On
The Ball" at 12:40-12:50pm, "World of Sport" then joined Wembley at 2:35pm
with Malcolm Allison, Pat Crerand, Derek Dougan and Jack Charlton on the
panel, Jimmy Hill made his last appearance for ITV. BBC1's "Grandstand"
had a longer preview at 12:35-1pm, but they joined Wembley at the same
time as ITV, David Coleman commentated for the BBC who had Brian Clough,
Jock Stein, Don Revie and Bobby Charlton on their panel. Despite recent
criticism of the Home Internationals as a whole, the Auld-enemy clash remained
as popular as ever and attracted a full house. England were generally in
command, although Shilton had to make two good saves - one in the early
stages and another late-on in an ill-tempered game best illustrated by
Billy Bremner's angry reaction to a foul by Emlyn Hughes (revenge for Bremner's
earlier kick on Bobby Moore who in turn had badly fouled Lorimer in the
1st half). On 48 a spectator ran on to the pitch and flung himself at Alan
Ball, Peter Storey came to Ball's aid before two policeman arrived to drag
the man away. Martin Peters headed in the only goal on 54 from Ball's free-kick
at the far post, Leeds' Joe Jordan came on as a sub on 70mins to make his
Scottish debut. Alf Ramsey complimented the Scots saying that it had been
the best Scotland display he had seen since becoming England manager. BBC1
included highlights on "Match of the Day", some ITV regions showed highlights
on Sunday afternoon - LWT, Southern, HTV, Scottish and Grampian as part
of "Sportsworld '73" at 2:15-3:05pm (also including Netball), Tyne Tees
appear to have been the only region to devote a whole hour to highlights
at 1:55-2:55pm. ATV had "Sunday Sport" at 2-3pm but were not scheduled
to include football.
Sat 19/May/1973 Northern Ireland
1 (Hamilton) Wales 0
Goodison Park
BBC Highlights
Barry Davies
*This fixture kicked off at
7:30pm and with 1st place already decided, only 4,946 spectators turned
up. Wyn Davies headed against the cross-bar for Wales, Bryan Hamilton of
Ipswich scored the only goal with a 20-yarder in the 13th minute. BBC1
showed highlights on "Match of the Day" at 10:10-11:40pm along with the
England v Scotland clash. David Coleman presented the show with a panel
of Bobby Charlton, Clough, Revie and Stein.
Final table
1. England 6
2. N.Ireland 4
3. Scotland 2
4. Wales
0
1974
The 1973/74 season marked a shift in the balance
of power in terms of British interest on the world stage. Just over a week
before the start of the Home Internationals, England finally sacked their
1966 World Cup winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey having suffered the indignity
of failing to qualify for a World Cup tournament as a result of a home
draw against Poland back in October. Scotland were now the only British
team looking forward to the 1974 finals in West Germany (their first since
1958), although Wales could feel reasonably satisfied having been well
in contention until their final match. 'The Troubles' continued to hamper
the progress of Northern Ireland - Still unable to play at home, the Irish
never remotely threatened to qualify for the World Cup, whilst on the British
championship scene, last year's Goodison Park solution was dropped in favour
of staging their one 'home' fixture v Scotland at Hampden.
Under caretaker boss Joe Mercer, England obviously
had a point to prove and after the first four games they looked to be on
course to claim the Home Internationals trophy outright. If television
coverage was anything to go by, the decisive 1974 fixture was the most
important televised auld-enemy clash yet, as ITV scheduled an unprecedented
Friday night preview programme "Who'll Win The Battle Of Hampden?". Scotland
turned out to be the victors, proving themselves as right and proper British
representatives in West Germany by registering their first win over England
since 1967 and first Hampden win over England in a decade to ensure that
the trophy would be shared. Wales, following two more blanks, finally found
the back of the net for the first time in no less than twelve Home International
fixtures, as well as recording their first victory in the tournament since
1970. In June, Dave Bowen (part-time manager for ten years) was encouraged
to commit to the international cause full-time, but he turned down the
Welsh FA's offer, preferring instead to continue as general manager of
Northampton Town.
Sat 11/May/1974 Wales 0 England
2 (Bowles, Keegan)
Cardiff
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*ITV showed highlights at 7:45-8:30pm
(a much shorter opening game programme than of recent years), there was
no studio panel but Jack Charlton summarised from the ground. Leicester
City's Keith Weller made his England debut in windy conditions, his fierce
cross-shot on 37 led to England's opening goal when Welsh keeper John Phillips
only managed to push it out ot Stan Bowles who took full advantage. The
2nd goal came on 56 from a corner when Kevin Keegan half-connected to a
cross by Nish, Tony Villars attempted to clear but instead appeared to
get a touch - without which the ball may have gone wide. Keegan was credited
with his first international goal but was later kicked by a spectator as
he walked off the pitch at the end of the match.
Sat 11/May/1974 Scotland 0 Northern
Ireland 1 (Cassidy)
Hampden
BBC Highlights
?????
*Highlights were included on
"Match of the Day" on BBC1 at 10:00-11:30pm along with an edit of Wales
v England. In wet conditions, the only goal came on 40 mins when Tommy
Cassidy and keeper David Harvey slithered into oneanother and the ball
cannoned off the forward's legs and into the net despite a straining rescue
effort by Martin Buchan. In the 2nd half, Joe Jordan saw an effort tipped
on to the top of the crossbar and at the other end Jardine cleared off
the line. Denis Law made a record 54th appearance for Scotland but overall
it was a very disappointing afternoon for the World Cup bound team.
Tue 14/May/1974 Scotland 2 (Dalglish,
Jardine(pen)) Wales 0
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*ITV showed highlights at 10:30-11:30pm,
Brian Moore presented from London with a panel of experts (probably Allison,
Crerand, Dougan and Jack Charlton) analysing an improved performance from
Scotland. Kenny Dalglish headed them ahead on 25 and the same player was
judged to have been fouled in the area on 44 which resulted in Sandy Jardine
scoring from the spot, Ford also hit the post in the 1st half. In the early
hours of Wednesday morning, a group of Scotland players (under the influence
of alcohol) made their way down to the beach at Largs on the Firth of Clyde,
Jimmy Johnstone decided to climb into a rowing boat and ultimately had
to be rescued by the coast guard at 6am nearly half a mile off shore.
Wed 15/May/1974 England 1 (Weller)
Northern Ireland 0
Wembley
BBC Highlights
?????
*BBC1 9:55-11:30pm. The only
goal came on 67 mins when Channon crossed from the by-line for Frank Worthington
to set up Keith Weller to head past Jennings. Man of the match Colin Bell
headed against the crossbar late on. Frank Worthington also made a good
impression having come on as a sub in place of Stan Bowles to make his
England debut. A day later, a depressed Bowles left the England HQ without
permission shortly before they were due to travel by air to Scotland, where
- on arrival - Joe Mercer said "I don't know what happened or where he
is". Bowles was tracked down by a reporter but refused to comment, other
than to confirm that he wouldn't be going to Scotland. Bowles club manager
at QPR, Gordon Jago, had just resigned and was thought to be a strong contender
for the full-time England post once Mercer's temporary stint was over at
the end of the season.
Sat
18/May/1974 Scotland 2 (Jordan, Todd(og)) England 0
Hampden
ITV LIVE
Hugh Johns
*ITV's scheduled Friday night
"Who'll Win The Battle Of Hampden?" also had to include the late addition
of highlights of the first ever European Cup final replay, most regions
broadcast the programme at 10:30-11:30pm, but LWT showed it an hour later
whilst SCOTTISH had their own show at 11:05-11:35pm. ITV's Saturday "World
of Sport" coverage, as with last year, only included a brief 10 minute
"On The Ball" (BBC1 had a 30 minute 'Football Preview'), both channels
joined Hampden at 2:35pm (David Coleman commentated for BBC1). Brian Moore
chaired a panel of Dougan, Crerand, Jack Charlton and Allison but didn't
commentate this year, the mic was handed to Hugh Johns instead (who'd also
commentated on the ill-fated England v Poland match). In sheeting rain,
the home crowd created an even more intense atmosphere than usual for this
fixture, inspiring their team into an early momentum which England never
really got to grips with, the visitors needed a draw to win the trophy
outright but were behind on 5 minutes - Frank Worthington's wayward pass
in front of his own penalty found Billy Bremner who set up a race between
Shilton and Lorimer, the ball then ran loose to Joe Jordan who's goal bound
effort was intercepted by the outstretched leg of Mike Pejic but only to
help it into the corner of the net for 1-0. On 30 Jimmy Johnstone back
healed to Lorimer by the touchline, his attempted cross was partially blocked
but fell to Kenny Dalglish who's low ball into the box took a deflection
off Colin Todd and bobbled into the goal for number 2. Shilton had to make
a number of good saves before the final whistle was greeted by wild celebrations
and Jimmy Johnstone (pictured) made a point of making a gesture to the
press box following newspaper criticism of his sojourn out to sea in mid-week.
BBC1 included highlights on "Match of the Day" at 10:00-11:30pm. Sunday
afternoon ITV viewers (except in the Granada, Yorkshire, Tyne Tees and
Scottish/Grampian regions) saw brief highlights on "Sports World '74" at
1:55-2:40pm (along with gymnastics and Gaelic football).
Sat 18/May/1974 Wales 1 (Smallman)
Northern Ireland 0
Wrexham
BBC Highlights
?????
*A 7pm kick-off, highlights
were included on BBC1's "Match of the Day" along with the afternoon's action
from Hampden at 10:00-11:30pm. Northern Ireland had the chance to share
the trophy with Scotland and England - they needed a victory - but lost
to a goal by local boy & current Wrexham player David Smallman who
lobbed Jennings mid-way through the first half.
Final table
1. Scotland 4
1. England 4
3. N.Ireland 2
3. Wales
2
1975
The 1975 tournament was the most wide open and keenly anticipated Home Internationals for some years, it was England's first under Don Revie and Wales' first under Mike Smith, whilst Northern Ireland, now under temporary player/manager Dave Clements, would stage home fixtures in Belfast for the first time since 1971. Scotland had performed well in last year's World Cup finals but were struggling in the European Championships, for which England and Wales looked well positioned to qualify for the Quarter-finals. Indeed, England had yet to concede a single goal since Revie had taken over. Despite a run of wooden spoons, Wales were now considered serious contender's to win the British crown, they held both Scotland and England to 2-2 draws and had the opportunity to top the group ahead of the auld-enemy clash thanks to the decision to switch the Northern Ireland/Wales clash to the Friday night, but Northern Ireland were buoyed by the return of Home Internationals to Belfast and won the match 1-0 and so, once again, the England v Scotland fixture proved to be the decider with England romping to a memorable 5-1 victory.
Sat 17/May/1975 Northern Ireland
0 England 0
Belfast
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*ITV dropped opening Saturday
highlights this season in favour of showing them on Sunday afternoon's
"Home International Championship" presented by Brian Moore went out at
2:10-3:05pm (some regions broadcast it 30 minutes later). England
equalled their record of 6 consecutive clean sheets and Kevin Keegan and
Dave Watson both had efforts cleared off the line, but it was a disappointing
performance from England in which South African born Colin Viljoen made
his debut. BBC1 showed highlights of both games on "Match of the Day Special"
on Saturday at 9:45-11:45pm (with David Coleman commentating in Belfast),
this programme also included boxing.
Sat 17/May/1975 Wales 2 (Toshack,
Flynn) Scotland 2 (Jackson, Rioch)
Cardiff
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*Highlights of an entertaining
clash on a difficult pitch were shown alongside the match in Belfast on
Saturday night on BBC1 (with Barry Davies commentating in Cardiff) and
Sunday afternoon on ITV. STV's Arthur Montford conducted ITV's interviews
with manager's Willie Ormond and Mike Smith and players John Toshack and
Brian Flynn. Toshack shot through a crowded penalty area to give Wales
the lead on 28, Brian Flynn netted no.2 after a neat build up on 35. Scotland
fought back in the 2nd half - Colin Jackson met a byline cross from the
right at the far post to head in a goal on 52, Bruce Rioch then equalised
with a fine shot from just inside the area on 61. Stewart Kennedy made
a miraculous double save to keep Wales out at the other end and Scotland
twice hit the woodwork in the closing stages.
Tue 20/May/1975 Scotland 3 (MacDougall,
Dalglish, Parlane) Northern Ireland 0
Hampden
ITV Highlights
Brian Moore
*ITV 10:30-11:30pm. Ted MacDougall
headed Scotland ahead on 15 mins from a corner, Kenny Dalglish made it
2-0 on 21 picking up the ball from a quickly taken throw and lashing in
at an angle from 12 yards out, the Scottish fans sang "Bring on the English"
but the Irish came more into the match until Dalglish set up Derek Parlane
to net the third from close range ten minutes from the end. Alfie Conn
of Spurs came on as a sub to make his Scottish debut.
Wed 21/May/1975 England 2 (Johnson
2) Wales 2 (Toshack, Griffiths)
Wembley
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 showed the game on "Sportsnight"
at 9:55-11:25pm. Kevin Keegan was 'rested' and he left the squad in disgust
for his parents home in Doncaster on the Tuesday night; "I left the England
camp because I wasn't told in a proper way that I wouldn't be playing".
Revie said "I'm obviously worried. I don't want to say anything about it
until I've spoken to the boy, in fairness to him". Ipswich Town's David
Johnson made his England debut and took only 10 minutes to find the back
of the net, heading in a deflected cross from Viljoen (the Ipswich player's
2nd and final appearance), Wales equalised 10 minutes into the 2nd half
- a corner was met by Smallman which Clemence blocked, the England keeper
also kept out Griffiths on the re-bound but the ball then fell to Toshack
who forced it over the line - it was the first goal England had conceded
under Revie, and they soon conceded another on 65 as Gillard allowed a
long throw from Thomas to run free to Griffiths who scored from close range
at the near post. Wales looked to be on course to register their first
ever victory at Wembley until an 84th minute equaliser - Aston Villa's
Brian Little had replaced Mick Channon on 71 for his one and only international
and it was his good work and cross from the byline that set up David Johnson
to head in his 2nd for 2-2.
Fri 23/May/1975 Northern Ireland
1 (Finney) Wales 0
Belfast
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*BBC1 showed highlights on "Match
of the Day" from 11:07-11:47pm. ITV may have showed highlights during "World
of Sport" the following day with Hugh Johns commentating. Wales - without
the services of Yorath and Toshack - squandered the chance to go top of
the group, losing to the odd goal on 23 minutes when player/manager Dave
Clements centred and Dai Davies, the Welsh keeper, failed to deal with
it as Spence headed up in the air and Finney forced the ball over the line.
Derek Showers grazed the crossbar for Wales in the 2nd half, but it was
a deserved win for the home side.
Sat 24/May/1975 England 5 (Francis
2, Beattie, Bell, Johnson) Scotland 1 (Rioch(pen))
Wembley
ITV LIVE*
Brian Moore
*Live coverage was scheduled
for "World of Sport" to be introduced by Dickie Davies with an "On The
Ball" preview at 12:30-1pm and coverage of the match from 2:35pm, but ITV
were facing a blackout because of strike action, only LWT, Westward, Tyne
Tees and Channel stayed on-air throughout Friday and into the weekend,
the dispute continued to effect ITV the following week with only Westward
and Channel left on air on Monday and normal service not resumed until
Friday 30th (except Scottish who were delayed until Monday 2nd). BBC1 had
live coverage of England v Scotland on "Grandstand" introduced by Frank
Bough with "Football Focus" at 12:35-1pm and coverage of the game from
2:35pm with David Coleman commentating. Despite London transport refusing
to run trains and buses to Wembley, Scotland were backed by an enormous
following in a 100,000 crowd, they had been forced to walk 8 miles from
Euston and King's Cross, but it was all in vain as they saw England take
an early lead on 6 when Channon did well to get the ball under control
in midfield before passing to Gerry Francis who found space for himself
and unleashed a fine strike which flew past a statuesque Stewart Kennedy
into the far corner. Scotland launched an attack from the re-start and
trickery from Kenny Dalglish won them a free-kick, but this was wasted
and England quickly countered, Kevin Keegan - back in the side after his
mid-week fall out with Revie - crossed from the right and Kevin Beattie
out-jumped Jardine to get in a looping header which dropped underneath
the crossbar and saw England take a 2-0 lead after a only 7 minutes of
play. Scotland were unlucky not to pull one back when a purposeful Dalglish
set up Parlane who's shot beat Clemence but smacked off the upright. Colin
Bell then put England 3-0 ahead after a nice patient build-up down the
left and into the centre eventually found Bell who battled through one
challenge before shooting home, the Scots then immediately won a penalty
at the other end when Colin Todd hand-balled in the area, Bruce Rioch paused
before placing his spot kick into the bottom right corner, 3-1 to England
to Half-time. Scotland might have pulled another one back early in the
2nd half, a poor back pass by Todd was intercepted by Duncan who rounded
the keeper but his finishing effort from a wide angle hit the side netting.
Keegan won England a free-kick on 65, which had to be re-taken - both times
the ball was played through another England player's legs and at the 2nd
time of asking Gerry Francis' strike clipped the wall and went in off the
far post, leaving Stewart Kennedy on his knees and cursing his luck. On
75 England won another free-kick, this time on the far right which Keegan
met and hit the crossbar, Watson was first to the re-bound but hit the
post and then David Johnson was there to finally force the ball in for
5-1. Kennedy took most of the blame for the result and this match proved
to be his 5th and final international appearance, it was also the 2nd and
final appearance for Alfie Conn. Alan Ball - the last remaining veteran
of the 1966 England World cup winning team - won his 72nd and final cap.
BBC1 showed highlights on "Match of the Day" fronted by Jimmy Hill at 10:50-11:50pm.
There were no highlights scheduled for ITV.
Final table
1. England 4
2. Scotland 3
3. N.Ireland 3
4. Wales
2
1976
1976 overview to be added.
Thu 06/May/1976 Scotland 3 (Pettigrew,
Rioch, Gray) Wales 1 (Griffiths(pen))
Hampden
ITV Highlihgts
Brian Moore
*10:45-11:45pm.
Sat 08/May/1976 Wales 0 England
1 (Taylor)
Wrexham
ITV Highlihgts
Brian Moore
*Networked Sunday highlights
of this and the following game at 2:10-3:10pm. David Coleman commentated
for BBC1's Saturday night MOTD coverage.
Sat 08/May/1976 Scotland 3 (Gemmill,
Masson, Dalglish) Northern Ireland 0
Hampden
ITV Highlihgts
Hugh Johns
*BBC1 had Saturday night highlights
of both Saturday games at 10:10-11:40pm, John Motson voiced the Hampden
clash.
Tue 11/May/1976 England 4 (Channon
2, Francis, Pearson) Northern Ireland 0
Wembley
BBC Highlihgts
Barry Davies
*BBC1 "Sportsnight" 9:55-10:55pm.
Fri 14/May/1976 Wales 1 (James)
Northern Ireland 0
Swansea
BBC Highlihgts
Barry Davies
*BBC1 "Match of the Day" 10:45-11:37pm.
Sat 15/May/1976 Scotland 2 (Masson,
Dalglish) England 1 (Channon)
Hampden
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Jack Charlton
*"On The Ball" preview 12:35-12:45pm,
match coverage from 2:40pm. BBC1 had a longer preview from 12:35-1:00pm
and match coverage from 2:35pm (David Coleman commentating). A tape exits
of ITV coverage from before the match starts, right through to the 'World
Of Sport' end credits (and so includes the racing results, Australian pools
news and the sports round-up). Highlights on BBC1 10:15-11:15pm.
Final table
1. Scotland 6
2. England 4
3. Wales
2
4. N.Ireland 0
More season's to be added soon
Page last updated November 2009
