Fine, in general, with a slight shower through
the match. A stiff wind prevailed.
"The England players we had down this time were a splendid lot of players
individually, but to my idea they played very selfishly, each one of them
appearing to play for himself and not for the success of the side" - 'A
Disgusted Englishman' - Bell's Life, 1878
The cause was
not so much the want of English pluck and endurance as the superiority
shown by the Scotch in playing together, power, and the result of
incessant practice. The strangers fought bravely and well but the
hardy Scots fought better, and the game was won.
-
Bell's Life in London and
Sporting Chronicle - Sunday 3rd March, 1878
About 15,000
spectators were present at Hampden-park, near Glasgow, on Saturday, to
witness the seventh annual match between England and Scotland, under
Association Rules. Unfortunately, heavy rains on Thursday and Friday
caused the ground to be in a very moist, slippery condition on the
Saturday. A close contest had been anticipated, although it was
generally admitted that the English possessed a stronger team than
their rivals. The home team always have an advantage, however, in
having a larger number of players to select from, owing to the
difficulty in getting players to travel so far north or south, as the
case may be. The consequence was that Scotland sent a very formidable
11 into the field, and as they were lighter and passed the ball better
than the Southerners, the result was an easy victory.
The Scotch were
successful in the toss, and chose to play at first with the wind,
which blew rather strongly, at their backs. With this powerful ally
they soon pushed the warfare into the enemy's territory, and it was
not long before M'Dougal kicked a goal for Scotland. This was soon
after followed by a second goal obtained by M'Gregor. The English now
strove hard to stem the tide, which appeared to have set in so
unfavourably against them. They were unable to do so, however, as
before half-time had arrived the Scotch had doubled their previous
score, M'Neil and Highet each being credited with a goal. With the
change of ends and with the wind at their backs it was expected that a
change would follow in the fortunes of the Southerners. But their
hopes were soon dispelled, as a minute had hardly passed before
M'Dougal kicked a fifth goal for Scotland, and M'Kinnon a few minutes
later obtained a sixth. A check to these continued successes was now
made through a combined rush on the part of the English forwards, and
Wace getting in possession of the ball, kicked it between the posts.
This success, however, was of short duration, as M'Neil quickly scored
a seventh goal for Scotland. Before the conclusion of the match the
Southerners made another raid into their opponents' territory, and a
second goal was secured. "Time" was soon afterwards called, and the
Scotch were pronounced victors by seven goals to two. Of the seven
matches which have been played, Scotland claims four victories,
England one, and two games have been drawn. -
The Times
- Monday 4th March, 1878
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