England Match No. 12 - Wales - 26 February 1881

England Football Online
Results 1872-1890	Page Last Updated 30 November 2021	*Cymru*

previous match (348 days) 11 vs. Wales 12 next match (14 days) 13 vs. Scotland 16 vs. Wales	Saturday, 26 February 1881 Association Friendly Match England 0 Wales 1 [0-0]			"The teams having arrived, it was determined to go through with the fixture."
	England's first scoreless first half since first match
		East Lancashire Cricket Ground, Alexandra Meadows, Dukes Brow, Gawthorpe, Blackburn, Lancashire Kick-off (GMT): 'shortly before three o'clock', 'almost three o'clock'. Attendance: 'about 3,000 spectators attended', 'game was witnessed by about 4,000 spectators', 'over 4,000 spectators were present'.
		Jack Hunter won the toss	Wales kicked-off

		[0-1] Marshall header disallowed: offside	[0-1] Jackie Vaughan 54 'Hawtrey threw it out, but was charged over, and Vaughan running up placed the leather safely thro' the goal'
	"Wretched weather...the ground covered in snow and slush, a circumstance which the English said helped the Welsh to gain their unexpected victory"			Played according to FA rules.

Match Summary

Officials [umpires and referees are of equal relevance]

England Party

Team Records

Wales Party

Umpires

Thomas Hindle
25 (25 May 1855), Darwen
(Hon.sec. Lancs FA)

Edward Manners
Hon.secretary Welsh FA

Referee
Segar Richard Bastard
27 (25 January 1854), Bow, London
(Upton Park FC)

played for England in 1880

England Team

Rank:	No official ranking system established; ELO rating 2nd	Colours:		"The English eleven had on, as usual, the white jerseys, with the regular badge on the left breast".
Capt:	Jack Hunter¹ P 1 - W 0 - D 0 - L 1 - F 0 - A 1.	Selectors:		Before any official trial match, The Football Association Committee with Secretary Charles W. Alcock having the primary influence, chose the team on Monday evening, 7 February 1881. P 12 - W 4 - D 2 - L 6 - F 24 - A 32.
England Lineup (seven changes to the previous match)
13	Hawtrey, John P.	30 221 days	20 July 1850	G	Remnants FC & Old Etonians AFC	1	1ᵍᵃ
81
82	Harvey, Alfred	24 236 days	5 July 1856	RB	Wednesbury Strollers FC	1	0
						only app 1881
83	Bambridge, Arthur L.	19 252 days	16 June 1861	LB	Swifts FC	1	0
	Hunter, John	29 197 days	13 August 1851	Half Back	Heeley FC, Providence FC, Wednesday Club & Sheffield Albion FC	4	0
	Hargreaves, Frederick W.	22 194 days	16 August 1858		Blackburn Rovers FC	2	0
	Marshall, Thomas	22 167 days	12 September 1858	OR	Darwen FC	2	0
						final app 1880-81
84	Rostron, Thurston	17 311 days	21 April 1863	IR	Darwen FC	1	0
85	Brown, James	18 210 days	31 July 1862	Centre Forward	Blackburn Rovers FC	1	0
86	Tait, George	21	late 1859		Birmingham Excelsior FC	1	0
						only app 1881
87	Hargreaves, John	20 75 days	13 December 1860	IL	Blackburn Rovers FC	1	0
	Mosforth, William	23 55 days	2 January 1858	OL	Wednesday FC	7	2
						most apps
reserves:		Alf Harvey and George Tait were the original reserves (no replacements made)
team notes:		The original team line-up included Nottingham Forest FC's Edwin Luntley, and Upton Park FC's Clem Mitchell. But at the 'last moment, were unable to take their places', their places going to Harvey and Tait. Arthur Bambridge's brothers, Ernest (1876) and Charlie (1879-80) also played for England, making them the first set of three brothers to play for the national team.
records:		The first occasion that England played with three teenagers.

2-2-6		Hawtrey - Harvey, Bambridge - Hunter, F.Hargreaves - Marshall, Rostron, Brown, Tait, J.Hargreaves, Mosforth.
Averages:		Age	23 years 63-73 days	Appearances/Goals		2.0	0.2
				=most experienced team so far

Wales Team

Rank:	No official ranking system established; ELO rating 3rd	Colours:		"The Welshmen wore white shirts, but to distinguish the players the visiting team wore a sash of ribbon as a belt".
Capt:	John Morgan	Selectors:		Team chosen by the Welsh Selection Committee.
Wales Lineup
1	McMillan, Robert	24	1857	G	Shrewsbury Engineers FC, England	1	0ᵍᵃ
2	Morgan, John R.	26	1855	Back	Derby Grammar School, England	5	0
3	Kenrick, Samuel Llewellyn	33 262 days	9 June 1847		Shropshire Wanderers FC, England	5	0
was an umpire in 1880 and will in 1882-84
his knee was dislocated and teeth shattered, but he returned later.			oldest known opp. player so far			final app 1876-81
	Williams, William	nk	nk	Half Back	Druids FC	6	0
	Bell, William S.	20 188 days	22 August 1860		Shrewsbury Engineers FC, England	1	0
	Goodwin, Uriah	22	1859	Right Forward	Ruthin FC	1	0
						only app 1881
	Vaughan, John	25/26	1855		Druids FC	3	1
	Crosse, Knyvett	25	July 1855	Centre Forward	Druids FC	2	0
9	Price, John	nk	nk		Wrexham AFC	6	0
	Owen, William Pierce	20 98 days	20 November 1860	Left Forward	Ruthin FC	3	0
	Lewis, Thomas	nk	nk		Wrexham AFC	1	0
reserves:		not known
team notes:		The original team line-up included "Ruabon's J. Powell, one of the best backs in Wales, he failed to put in appearance, but [Llewellyn] Kenrick, who has not played for a couple of seasons, volunteered to fill the vacancy". Jack Powell had in fact, missed his train connection. Reports at the time called Knyvett Crosse " "C.R. Smith" " (with the inverted commas) to show it was a pseudonym.
records:		This is Wales' first international victory, at their eighth attempt.

2-2-6		McMillan - Morgan, Kendrick - Williams, Bell - Vaughan, Goodwin, Crosse, Price, Owen, Lewis.
Averages:		Age	n/a	Appearances/Goals		3.1	0.1

Match Report - Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Monday, 28 February 1881

In Other News.....

The picked representatives of England and Wales met at Blackburn on Saturday afternoon for the second time, as this international match was only inaugurated last year at Wrexham. Falls were frequent and dodging play was not expected, although a good contest took place., taking into account the drawbacks in the shape of the treacherous turf. About 3,000 spectators attended. It was almost three o'clock before the game was commenced, and for a start the Englishmen bore down upon the Welsh citadel, but nothing came of a neat shot by Tait. The visitors soon ran into the English half, but Harvey stayed the progress of Owen and Lewis, and another attack was made by Mosforth on the visitors' goal, but Macmillan got the ball away. The Wales forwards got off once more with the ball, but when in close proximity with the English lines Roberts sent it behind the posts. The visitors made several well-concerted rushes to the English end, but Hawtry, the English goal-keeper, went about his work in the coolest manner possible, and repelled the Welsh attacks. On one occasion Lewis brought the ball to the English lines and centred in splendid style, but the other forwards were not up in time, and the ball soon travelled out of danger. Brown and Mosforth made two false shots at the opposite end, and then another rush was made to the home team end, but Bambridge stayed the attacking party. The Welsh left wing did some grand work, but the English backs repeatedly robbed them of the ball, and half-time arrived without either side having scored, although the English party had 'peppered' at the Welsh citadel at an astonishing rate. However, the spectators set themselves at rest with the thought that the Englishmen would run the visitors off their feet, and the next half would see some good scoring. Hunter kicked off, but before ten minutes had elapsed Hawtry was upset—and those who know the 'Remnant's' manly form would consider this a great feat—Bambridge lost the ball, Vaughan found it and soon sent it home, which was the winning stroke for the visitors. Every tactic was tried, but the Welsh goal could not be lowered. Marshall and Rostron made some fine shots, but the Welshmen crowded in front of their goal whenever an attack was made. Misfortune seemed to cling to the home team, as Mosforth made a true shot at the Welsh goal, but the ball bounded through, off Marshall, who was standing near the post, and on an appeal the Darwen forward was ruled off side, and thus the point was lost. Towards the close Hunter made a grand run, but nothing more was gained, and the Welshmen won by one goal to nil.

At Trent Bridge, Nottingham Forest beat the F.A. Cup holders, Clapham Rovers 3-0.

It was on 27 February 1881 that 359 men, including their commanding officer, General Sir George Colley, were killed at Majuba Hill as they attempted to reclaim the Transvaal from the Boers.

An Association match between England and Wales was played on Saturday last at Blackburn. The attendance was large. Wales were lucky enough to secure a goal, by which point they won the match. England made several determined efforts to score, and their rivals' goal had many very narrow escapes. - The Times, Monday, 28 February 1881 Hawtrey, the English goalkeeper, threw the ball out but was charged over at the same time and Vaughan running up placed the leather safely through the goal for Wales. The Englishmen strove hard to get on terms with their opponents. Shot after shot was aimed at the Welsh goal but each attempt was rendered futile. When time was called Wales were declared winners by one goal to love. - Wrexham Advertiser, Saturday, 5 March 1881
Source Notes
TheFA Cris Freddi: Football Historian Welsh Football Data Archive HistoricalKits.co.uk/international/Wales Nick Gibbs' England: The Football Facts		Wrexham.Gov.uk: The story of Welsh football FreeBMD.org.uk Rothmans Yearbooks Alan Brown: Football Historian Wrexham Advertiser, Saturday, 5 March 1881

Most of the Welsh birth details have been taken from the UK 1881 census, which was taken on the night of the 3rd April 1881.
The census also revealed that Welsh goalkeeper, Robert McMillan, was born in South America.
There was only one John R. Morgan in Derby in 1881, a 26 year-old schoolmaster of Derby School. Likewise, there was only one William Bell living in Shropshire, a 28 year-old coal miner.
There was, however, 2,240 William Williams in the census alone. 105 of them lived in Denbighshire, and those are just the males of playing age. By a similar notion, there were nine different Thomas Lewis', and sixteen John Price's, in Wrexham.