Match Report The Sporting Life, Wednesday, 23 November 1870, front page

   

The second of the two matches arranged by the committee of the Football Association for decision during the season of 1870-71, between the best players of England and Scotland, took place on Saturday last in the presence of a vaster array of spectators than is usually witnessed at the most important celebrations of the football campaign. The scene of action was, as in the case of previous contests, the Surrey Cricket Ground at Ken[n]ington Oval, which from its accessible situation, is, perhaps, the most popular of all the places devoted to football in the English metropolis, while the rules were again those promoted by the Football Association, the chief feature whereof is their strict veto against all handling except in the immediate defence of goal. The first contest—it may be as well to state here by way of reminder—took place in November last and ended, after a desperate resistance, on the part of the Scottish Eleven in their defeat by one goal. On that occasion it was justly argued that the vanquished owed their reserve to the imperfect manner in which they were represented, and consequently no stone has been left unturned by the Scotch captain since that date to secure an Eleven worthy of the importance of the second encounter of the season. In this task it will be seen that he succeeded even beyond expectations, as, with the exception of the absence of Lieutenant Renny-Tailyour, of the Royal Engineers, a player of abilities inferior to few in the South, there was no point in which the Scottish champions could possibly have been improved. These preliminary details bring us to the record of the match itself, which it was, moreover, confidently anticipated would be productive of a tough struggle, so well had the duty of selecting the best players at his disposal been performed by the commander of the English forces. At half-past three o'clock the game was opened with a kick off from the English Eleven, the choice of goals, which had fallen to the captain of the Northerners, enabling the latter to secure the assistance of a strong wind blowing directly down the line of play. Partly by means of this advantage, and partly from a

lack of energy visible on the part of many of the Englishmen, the English position was seriously threatened, and only a quarter of an hour had elapsed before a very well executed run by C.E.B. Nepean achieved its overthrow, to the accomplishment of considerable cheering from the Scotch element among the spectators. This success was followed by the usual change of sides; and now the English Eleven showed an amount of hard work that contrasted favourably with their display in this respect at the commencement of the game. Several times the ball was driven within a few feet of the post defended by the Scotchmen, but the desired success for a long time failed to reward their efforts, until at length, when more than half the allotted time had passed, R.S.F. Walker, by a very clever kick, counterbalanced the previous success of Scotland by the achievement of a goal for England, amid well deserved applause from all parts of the ground. Another change of positions was thereby necessitated and from this point until the end of the game, although no further score was realised by either Eleven, the superiority was all on the side of England. Three times, indeed, the Scotch goal narrowly escaped capture, and once its collapse would have certainly been effected but for an unfortunate cannon against one of the Scotch backs at the very moment when a favourable kick was a matter of no difficulty. At five o'clock, however, "time" was called, with only oe goal to each party, and thus the third contest between the two countries, and certainly the most exciting and hard fought of all the encounters, ended in an undecided game. Scotland certainly made a most creditable fight, and to their cause no more efficient assistance was rendered than by C.E.B. Nepean, who was ably supported by the fine kicking and generally excellent back play of Quentin Hogg and W.H. Gladstone, both of whom deserve most honorable mention. For England R.S.F. Walker again worked forward from the kick-off until the call of time with commendable energy, and of those not otherwise mentioned, E. Lubbock, as half-back, kicked with remarkable precision.

       Source Notes

Andy Mitchell's First Elevens: The birth of international football original newspaper report Douglas Lamming's A Century of English International Football 1872-1988 Douglas Lamming's A Scottish Internationalists' Who's Who 1872-1986

Mark Shaoul & Tony Williamson's Forever England: A History of the National Side CricInfo Original newspaper reports