1897–98 British Home Championship

The 1897-98 British Home Championship was the fifteenth edition of the annual football tournament played between the British Home Nations. England won the trophy after whitewashing all three opponents and taking the maximum six points. Scotland came second after winning two of their games whilst Ireland came third following a close victory over Wales in Llandudno.

Ireland's win over Wales was the first match of the tournament and gave Ireland a short lived advantage in the competition. England ended this advantage in the second game with a close 3–2 win over the Irish in Belfast and Scotland joined the other two on two points with a 5–2 thrashing of the Welsh. Scotland then briefly took the lead with a win over Ireland in Belfast before England joined them by beating Wales by the same scoreline in Wrexham. In the final and deciding match, played at Celtic Park in Glasgow, the Scots were defeated by a fast and powerful England side who ran out 3–1 winners and took the trophy.

Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD
England	6	3	3	0	9	3	+6
Scotland	4	3	2	1	9	5	+4
Ireland	2	3	1	2	3	6	−3
Wales	0	3	0	3	2	9	−7

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

Results

19 February 1898

Wales	0 – 1	Ireland
		Jack Peden

The Oval, Llandudno

5 March 1898

Ireland	2 – 3	England
John Pyper Joe McAllen		Gilbert Smith Charlie Athersmith Tommy Morren

Solitude, Belfast

19 March 1898

Scotland	5 – 2	Wales
James Gillespie 12', 20', 61' James McKie 29', 40'		44' Thomas Thomas 89' Morgan Morgan-Owen

Fir Park, Motherwell

Attendance: 3,500

Referee: William H. Stacey (England)

26 March 1898

Ireland	0 – 3	Scotland
	Scottish FA	30' Tommy Robertson 42' Bob McColl 70' William Stewart

Solitude, Belfast

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: John Lewis (England)

28 March 1898

Wales	0 – 3	England
		Fred Wheldon 2 Gilbert Smith

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

2 April 1898

Scotland	1 – 3	England
Jimmy Millar		Steve Bloomer 2 Fred Wheldon

Celtic Park, Glasgow

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
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Rous Cup Nations Cup Matches outside the British Home Championship