1898–99 British Home Championship

The 1898–99 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. A very high scoring affair, the competition featured the highest scoreline ever achieved in the Home Championships when England defeated Ireland 13–2 in Sunderland. It was the first of two particularly heavy defeats for the Irish side, who nevertheless still managed to finish third, courtesy of a victory over Wales.

England's win over the Ireland was the start of the tournament and placed them immediately on top of the table, a position Ireland joined them in with their 1–0 victory over Wales in the second game. Scotland began their bid for the title in the third match with a strong 6–0 win over Wales in Wrexham. Wales' poor competition was finished in their next game when England again took top position by beating them 4–0. In the penultimate game, Scotland joined England at the top of the table with a 9–1 demolition of Ireland, who had conceded 21 goals in two games but still finished third. In the deciding match, England and Scotland both played a strong game but England eventually proved stronger, winning 2–1.

Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD
England	6	3	3	0	19	3	+16
Scotland	4	3	2	1	16	3	+13
Ireland	2	3	1	2	4	22	−18
Wales	0	3	0	3	0	11	−11

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

Results

18 February 1899

England	13–2	Ireland
Gilbert Smith 4 Jimmy Settle 3 Steve Bloomer 2 Fred Forman 2 Frank Forman Charlie Athersmith	(Match summary)	Joe McAllen James Campbell

Roker Park, Sunderland

4 March 1899

Ireland	1 – 0	Wales
Philip Meldon

Grosvenor Park, Belfast

18 March 1899

Wales	0 – 6	Scotland
		22', 55' John Campbell 50', 75', 85' Bob McColl 70' Henry Marshall

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Charles E. Sutcliffe (England)

20 March 1899

England	4 – 0	Wales
Steve Bloomer 2 Fred Forman Ernest Needham

Ashton Gate, Bristol

25 March 1899

Scotland	9–1	Ireland
Bob McColl 5', 25', 47' Alexander Christie 10' RC Hamilton 20', 65' Jack Bell 35' John Campbell 70', 80'		54' Archie Goodall

Celtic Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Charles E. Sutcliffe (England)

8 April 1899

England	2 – 1	Scotland
Gilbert Smith 25' Jimmy Settle 40'		52' RC Hamilton

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 25,590

Referee: James Torrans (Ireland)

References

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

v t e British Home Championship
Football in the United Kingdom: England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Competitors	England Ireland / Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
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