1885–86 British Home Championship

The 1885–86 British Home Championship was the third edition of the British Home Championship annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. As common for the time, the matches were punctuated by some high scorelines and for the first time two teams finished level on points at the top of the table, thus sharing the championship; goal difference would not be introduced to separate teams for over nearly 90 years.

1885–86 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host countryEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates27 February – 10 April 1886
Teams4
Final positions
Champions Scotland
 England (shared)
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored32 (5.33 per match)
Top scorer(s)Scotland Charles Heggie
England Benjamin Spilsbury (4 goals)

England and Scotland were the joint winners, with Wales third and Ireland last with zero points. The tournament began in February 1886 with a match between Wales and Ireland which Wales won comfortably 5–0. Ireland next played against England and Scotland, suffering two heavy defeats in which they conceded 13 goals for three in reply. With the three leaders therefore equal on points, England and Scotland played their match, sharing points in a 1–1 draw. Wales then played against England and Scotland in the final games but lost both, resulting in England and Scotland sharing the title.

Table

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Scotland (C) 3 2 1 0 12 4 +8 5
2   England (C) 3 2 1 0 10 3 +7 5
3   Wales 3 1 0 2 7 7 0 2
4   Ireland 3 0 0 3 3 18 −15 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.
(C) Joint champions

Results

edit
Wales  5–0  Ireland
Attendance: 700
Referee: Dick Gregson (England)

Ireland  1–6  England
Williams  
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: James McKillop (Scotland)

Ireland  2–7  Scotland
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: George T. Wolstenholme (Ireland)

Scotland  1–1  England
Somerville   80' Lindley   35'
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Alexander Hunter (Wales)

Wales  1–3  England
Lewis  
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Stuart Lawrie (Scotland)

Scotland  4–1  Wales
Vaughan   88'
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: John Sinclair (Ireland)

Winning squads

edit
Name Apps/Goals by opponent Total
 
WAL[3]
 
IRE[4]
 
SCO[5]
Apps Goals
Tinsley Lindley 1 1/1 1/1 3 2
Ralph Squire 1 1 1 3 0
Percy Walters 1 1 1 3 0
Benjamin Spilsbury 1/4 1 2 4
Fred Dewhurst 1/1 1/1 2 2
George Brann 1/1 1 2 1
Herby Arthur 1 1 2 0
Norman Bailey 1 1 2 0
Charles Bambridge 1 1 2 0
Nevill Cobbold 1 1 2 0
Jimmy Forrest 1 1 2 0
Andrew Amos 1/1 1 1
Arthur Walters 1 1 0
Richard Baugh 1 1 0
Charles Dobson 1 1 0
John Leighton 1 1 0
Thelwell Pike 1 1 0
William Rose 1 1 0
George Shutt 1 1 0
Name Apps/Goals by opponent Total
 
WAL[6]
 
IRE[7]
 
ENG[8]
Apps Goals
Charles Heggie 1/1 1 4
George Somerville 1 1 1
Michael Dunbar 1/1 1 1
James Gourlay 1/1 1 1
James Kelly 1/1 1 1
David Allan 1/1 1 1
William Harrower 1/1 1 1
James McCall 1/1 1 1
Bob McCormick 1/1 1 1
Ralph Aitken 1 1 0
Walter Arnott 1 1 0
Charles Campbell 1 1 0
Woodville Gray 1 1 0
Alexander Hamilton 1 1 0
Joe Lindsay 1 1 0
James McAulay 1 1 0
John Macdonald 1 1 0
Michael Paton 1 1 0
William Sellar 1 1 0
John Cameron 1 1 0
James Connor 1 1 0
Robert Fleming 1 1 0
Leitch Keir 1 1 0
William McLeod 1 1 0
Andrew Thomson 1 1 0
Willie Turner 1 1 0
George Gillespie 1 1 0
Andrew Jackson 1 1 0
Bob Kelso 1 1 0
James Lundie 1 1 0
John Marshall 1 1 0
James McGhee 1 1 0
William Semple 1 1 0

References

edit
  1. ^ "British Home Championship 1884–1899". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. ^ "British Championships 1886". Scotland Football Stats. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  3. ^ Monday, 29 March 1886 | Wales 1 England 3, England Football Online
  4. ^ Saturday, 13 March 1886 | Ireland 1 England 6, England Football Online
  5. ^ Saturday, 27 March 1886 | Scotland 1 England 1 , England Football Online
  6. ^ Sat 10 Apr 1886 Scotland 4 Wales 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
  7. ^ Sat 20 Mar 1886 Ireland 2 Scotland 7, London Hearts Supporters Club
  8. ^ Sat 27 Mar 1886 Scotland 1 England 1, London Hearts Supporters Club
  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.