1896–97 British Home Championship

1896–97 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Host country	England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Dates	20 February – 3 April 1897
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Scotland (7th title)
Runners-up	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	30 (5 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Steve Bloomer (4 goals)

The 1896–97 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. It was won by Scotland after a late goal at The Crystal Palace which beat England to the trophy despite England's dominance of the competition up to that point. Ireland came third despite conceding 14 goals and Wales finished last having picked up only one point.

England began the tournament the strongest, scoring six without reply against the Irish in Belfast with Fred Wheldon claiming a hat-trick. Ireland recovered in the second match however, a high-scoring affair against Wales in which the Irish just claimed a 4–3 victory. Wales too improved in their second match, forcing a draw from Scotland in Wrexham, before Scotland too improved, beating Ireland 5–1 at home to temporarily take the top of the table. England surpassed them in the penultimate match, winning 4–0 over Wales and needing only a draw in the final game at home against Scotland to win the tournament. Scotland however were more than a match for the English and scored late to claim their 2–1 victory and win the trophy.

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Scotland (C)	3	2	1	0	9	4	+5	5
England	3	2	0	1	11	2	+9	4
Ireland	3	1	0	2	5	14	−9	2
Wales	3	0	1	2	5	10	−5	1

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champion.

Results

20 February 1897

England	6 – 0	Ireland
25', 30', 55' Fred Wheldon 19', 85' Steve Bloomer 75' Charlie Athersmith

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Attendance: 13,490

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

6 March 1897

Ireland	4 – 3	Wales
7' James Barron 62' Olphie Stanfield 66' James Pyper 68' Jack Peden		19', 36' Billy Meredith 27' Caesar Jenkyns

Solitude, Belfast

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

20 March 1897

Wales	2 – 2	Scotland
Morgan Morgan-Owen 40' David Pugh 75'		11' (pen.) John L. Ritchie 60' John Walker

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Thomas Armitt (England)

27 March 1897

Scotland	5 – 1	Ireland
John McPherson 5', 70' Neilly Gibson 15' Bob McColl 25' Alexander King 40'		62' James Pyper

Ibrox Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: James Cooper (Wales)

29 March 1897

England	4 – 0	Wales
62', 64' Alf Milward 23' Ernest Needham 44' Steve Bloomer

Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: Tom Robertson (Scotland)

3 April 1897

England	1 – 2	Scotland
Steve Bloomer 19'		27' Thomas Hyslop 83' James Millar

The Crystal Palace, London

Attendance: 33,715

Referee: Richard Thomas Gough (Wales)

References

Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.

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British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland / Ireland
Seasons	1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 First World War 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 Second World War 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84
Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship