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Éireann

 
 
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99 vs. Ireland
 
Saturday, 15 February 1908
Home International Championship 1907-08 (25th) Match

Ireland 1 England 3 
[1-1]
 
 

Solitude Ground, Cliftonville, Belfast, County Antrim
Kick-off (DMT): '3.30pm' 3.06pm GMT;
Attendance: ''before 22,600'; (new record Irish attendance)
Receipts: 'x'

England's seventh visit to Cliftonville, thirteenth visit to Belfast
won toss kicked off
3 players lost since last match
Albermarle Swepstone (7 May 1907) 48
Alexander Bonsor (17 August) 55
Frederick Chappell (25 September) 58
38 players have now died

Football League Record

[1≡1] Dinny Hannon 13
'a finely directed powerful shot'
[0-1] George Hilsdon 7
 'The ball sent in looked to be going over, but dropped under the bar'
<100th goal conceded on a Saturday
tenth goal conceded to Ireland at an away venue
 
  [1-2] Vivian Woodward 80
 'a Wall corner followed by a close range shot'
[1-3] George Hilsdon 83
 'dribbled between the backs and putting the ball into the corner of the net'
 
 

"x" newspaper

Officials         

Ireland Team Records England
Referee
Thomas Robertson

44 (9 December 1863), Baldernock, Stirlingshire, Scotland FA
P 21 of 21 - W 16 - D 5 - L 1 - F 59 - A 15. played for Scotland against England in 1890
 
Linesmen
John Lewis
52 (30 March 1855), Market Drayton (Lancashire F.A.)
David McCloskey JP
(Belfast Celtic FAC)
 

Ireland Team

 

Rank

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 16th
Colours Royal blue jerseys and white shorts
Captain Billy Scott Selection Ireland Selection Committee
P 1 of 8, W 0 - D 0 - L 1 - F 1 - A 3.
  team chosen at the Imperial Hotel in Belfast on Saturday, 1 February 1908
Ireland Lineup
  Scott, William Edward 25 17 May 1882 G Everton FC, England 11 20ᵍᵃ
207   Craig, Alexander Breckenridge 21 2 April 1886 RB Rangers FC, Scotland 1 0
  McCartney, Alexander Douglas 28 14 November 1879 LB Belfast Celtic FAC 10 0
  Harris, Valentine 23 23 June 1884 RH Shelbourne AFC 4 0
  Connor, James 30 22 September 1877 CH Belfast Celtic FAC 8 0
  McClure, George 24 26 July 1883 LH Cliftonville AFC 3 0
  Blair, John Wilson 28 12 November 1879 OR Belfast Celtic FAC 4 0
208 Hannon, Denis Joseph 20 31 January 1888 IR The Bohemians FAC 1 1
209   Mercer, Harold Victor Aitken 20 22 April 1887 CF Linfield FAC 1 0
only app 1908
210   Burnison, Samuel 17
77 days
30 November 1890 IL Distillery FC 1 0
  Young, Samuel 25
1 day
16 February 1883 OL Linfield FAC 3 0

reserves:

not known

team changes:

The original named line-up included English McConnell (Sunderland AFC, England) and Charlie O'Hagan (Aberdeen FC, Scotland), who were needed by their respective clubs. Right-back Bill McCracken (Newcastle United FC, England) was demanding a £10 match fee to represent his country (the same as what the England players were receiving). The IFA refused and McCracken was dropped.
McCracken was subsequently banned from playing for Ireland (until 1920), while soon after the IFA passed a motion to cap payments to professionals to £4.
McCartney was called in to replace Craig, who had taken McCracken's vacant spot at right-back. The original half-back line was made up of Burnison, Harris and McConnell. Burnison replaced O'Hagan at inside-left. Connor was called into the centre, allowing Harris to go out right.

team notes:

George McClure is playing on his home ground.
 
2-3-5 Scott -
McCartney, Craig -
Harris, Connor, McClure -
Blair, Hannon, Mercer, Burnison, Young.

Averages:

Age   Appearances/Goals 4.3 0.0

 

England Team

 

Rank

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 1st
Colours White collared jerseys and navy blue shorts
Captain Vivian Woodward Selection
Member in charge: Richard Gregson
The five-man FA International Selection Committee
P 1 of 14, W 1 - D 0 - L 0 - F 3 - A 1. P 61 of 195, W 43 - D 12 - L 6 - F 199 - A 56.
the 34th player to captain England 1 team chosen, at 104 High Holborn, on Monday afternoon, 3 February 1908, along with the FA Cup third round draw.
England Lineup
    five changes to the previous match league position (3rd February) ave FL pos: 14th
36   Maskrey, Harry M. 27
130 days
8 October 1880 G Derby County FC (FL2 TOP) 1 1ᵍᵃ
330 the tenth County player to represent England only app 1908
  Crompton, Robert 28 26 September 1879 RB Blackburn Rovers FC (FL1 18th) 15 0
  Pennington, Jesse 24 23 August 1883 LB West Bromwich Albion FC (FL2 3rd) 3 0
  Warren, Benjamin 28 7 May 1879 RH Derby County FC (FL2 TOP) 7 0
  Wedlock, William J. 27 28 October 1880 CH Bristol City FC (FL1 6th) 4 0
331   Lintott, Evelyn H. 24
105 days
2 November 1883 LH Queen's Park Rangers FC (SL2 TOP) 1 0
the first Ranger to represent England
  Rutherford, John 23 12 October 1884 OR Newcastle United FC (FL1 2nd) 5 0
Woodward, Vivian J. 28 3 June 1879 IR Tottenham Hotspur FC (SL1 4th) 10 7
Hilsdon, George 22 10 August 1885 CF Chelsea FC (FL1 17th) 2 2
the 54th brace scored
332   Windridge, James E. 25
117 days
21 October 1882 IL Chelsea FC (FL1 17th) 1 0
the second Chelsea player to represent England
  Wall, George 22 20 February 1885 OL Manchester United FC (FL1 TOP) 2 0

reserves:

Andy Ducat (Woolwich Arsenal FC (FL1 13th)).

appearance notes:

Bob Crompton is the eighth player to make fifteen appearances and Vivian Woodward is the eighteenth player to have made ten. Ben Warren is the 31st to make seven, whereas Jock Rutherford is the 54th player to reach five, whilst Billy Wedlock is the 81st player to have now made four. Jesse Pennington is the 120th player to have now made three appearances and 189 players have done so more than once.
Crompton is the xth player to make fifteen appearances under the guidance of the ISC whereas Woodward is the x player to make ten appearance.

goalscoring notes:

Vivian Woodward is the eighth different player to have scored seven England goals.

records:

England's fiftieth competive victory, 73 played.
It is also the 25th victory over Ireland, out of 27 meetings, 25 of of which, have been competitive (23 victories).
George Hilsdon is the fifth England player to have scored two goals at the Solitude Ground, formerly the Cliftonville Ground.
 
2-3-5 Maskrey -
Crompton, Pennington -
Warren, Wedlock, Lintott -
Rutherford, Woodward, Hilsdon, Windridge, Wall

Averages:

Age   Appearances/Goals 4.6 0.5
 
       Match Report The x

  To come
   

          Match Report The Times, Monday, 17 February 1908
At Belfast, on Saturday, the 27th match, under Association rules, between Ireland and England produced not only some excellent football, but a most exciting contest. England won by three goals to one, and in so doing gained their 25th victory over the representatives of Ireland. They had, however, to work desperately hard for success, the home team offering such a strong defence in the second half that less than ten minutes from the finish the score stood at one goal all. Just afterwards, however, the Englishmen added a second point, and before the end arrived the Irish goalkeeper had been beaten a third time. Although once more defeated, Ireland emerged from the contest with much credit. They had to take the field without three of the men originally chosen, and yet made a close fight with the full strength of England. Winning the toss, the Irishmen in the opening half enjoyed a considerable advantage, the visitors having to face both wind and sun, but within seven minutes of the start an error of judgment on the part of Scott enabled England to take the lead. The ball, sent in by Hilsdon, looked to be going well over the goal, but it was up by the wind, and dropped just beneath the bar. A finely-directed shot by Hannon, with much power behind it, resulted in Ireland equalizing a quarter of an hour from the kick-off...
...only six minutes remained when from a corner, forced and admirably placed by Wall, Woodward scored at close range. The visitors now carried all before them. Scott stopped two fine shots, but he had no chance of preventing the third goal, Hilsdon dribbling between the backs and putting the ball into the corner of the net...
The game attracted an attendance of 22,000--a record for an Irish Association international.
 
       In Other News....
It was on 14 February 1908 that an inquest into the death of Sidney Fenton of Tooting determined that he had died from a brain haemorrhage. The police were criticised for arresting him and putting him in a cell overnight, because he appeared to be drunk.
 
      
”””””
Teams in a silver box denotes a player representing England
Domestic Football Results (15 February 1908)
The Football League Division One:
  
Aston Villa 5 The Wednesday 0
   Villa Park, Birmingham (12,000)
Cantrell¹⁴, Bache¹⁸ ²⁶ ⁷⁰, Hampton⁶⁷
Villa started with Bill George and Joe Bache
Wednesday started with Jimmy Stewart
 
Bury 1 Bristol City 1
   Gigg Lane, Bury (7,231)
Hibbert⁸ ~ Gilligan⁶⁰
Bury started with Frank Booth
City were without Billy Wedlock
  
Chelsea 2 Birmingham 2
   Stamford Bridge, Fulham (30,000)
Brawn²⁰, Fairgray⁷⁵ ~ Jones⁴⁷, Eyre⁵⁵
Chelsea were without George Hilsdon and Jimmy Windridge, but started with Billy Brawn
        
Liverpool 4 Woolwich Arsenal 1
   Anfield Road, Liverpool (18,000)
Hewitt²⁰ ⁸⁰, Bradley, Goddard ~ Coleman
Liverpool started with Sam Hardy and Jack Cox
Arsenal were without Andy Ducat, but did start with Jimmy Ashcroft and Tim Coleman
    
Manchester United 1 Blackburn Rovers 2
   Bank Street, Manchester (15,000)
A.Turnbull (pen⁷⁵) ~ Aitkenhead²⁰, Davies⁴⁶
United were without George Wall, but did start with Herbert Burgess and Charlie Roberts
Rovers were without Bob Crompton, but did start with Kelly Houlker
 
Middlesbrough 3 Sunderland 1
   Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough (15,000)
Cail¹⁷, Thackeray²⁵, Aitken³² ~ Holley⁶⁰
Boro started with Tim Williamson, Steve Bloomer and Alf Common
Sunderland started with Arthur Bridgett
 
Newcastle United 1 Manchester City 1
   St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne (25,000)
Willis⁶³ ~ Conlin²³
United were without Jock Rutherford, but did start with Colin Veitch
City started with Irvine Thornley and Jimmy Conlin
 
Nottingham Forest 1 Bolton Wanderers 0
   City Ground, Nottingham (6,000)
Marrison³⁵
Forest started with James Iremonger and Alf Spouncer
 
Preston North End 1 Notts County 0
   Deepdale, Preston (8,000)
Smith⁵⁴
North End started with Dicky Bond
 
Sheffield United 2 Everton 0
   Bramall Lane, Sheffield (10,000)
Bromage¹², Brown⁶⁸
United started with Bernard Wilkinson, Ernest Needham and Arthur Brown
Everton were without Billy Scott, but did start with Billy Balmer, Harry Makepeace, Walter Abbott. Jack Sharp and Jimmy Settle

 
Division One Table
Team P
Manchester United 25 39
Newcastle United 27 33
The Wednesday 26 32
Preston North End 28 29
Bury 27 28
Manchester City 25 27
Middlesbrough 28 27
Aston Villa 26 26
Everton 25 26
Bristol City 26 26
Sheffield United 27 26
Notts County 28 25
Liverpool 24 24
Nottingham Forest 26 24
Chelsea 27 24
Bolton Wanderers 27 23
Blackburn Rovers 26 23
Woolwich Arsenal 27 23
Birmingham 26 22
Sunderland 27 21

Manchester United were given a reminder that their dominance wouldn't last if they played as they did in their first home defeat of the season. They heeded the warning and went on to win their first League Championship.
     
   
The Football League Division Two:
 
Burnley 4 Barnsley 1
   Turf Moor, Burnley
(7,000)
Smith (3), Bell ~ Hellewell
Burnley started with Alec Leake
 
Gainsborough Trinity 1 Bradford City 5
   The Northolme, Gainsborough (4,000)
Kitchen ~ Handley (3), O'Rourke (2)
     
Glossop 2 Stoke 0
   North Road, Glossop (1,000)
Elmore, Grimes
 
Leeds City 5 Derby County 1
   Elland Road, Leeds (10,000)
Murray (pen), Croot, Lavery, McLeod (2) ~
 
Bevan
County were without Harry Maskrey and Ben Warren, but did start with George Davis
 
Leicester Fosse 2 Blackpool 1
   Filbert Street, Leicester (10,000)
Humphreys (2) ~ Gow
Fosse started with Billy Bannister and Percy Humphreys
 
Lincoln City 2 Clapton Orient 2
   Sincil Bank, Lincoln (1,500)
Langham, Ormiston ~ Martin (2)
 
Oldham Athletic 3 Fulham 3
   Boundary Park, Oldham (8,000)
Whaites, Shadbolt, Newton ~
 Dalrymple, Harrison, Threlfall
 
Stockport County 1 West Bromwich Albion 2
   Edgeley Park, Stockport (4,000)
Suart ~ Walker, Garrett
Albion were without Jesse Pennington
    
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Hull City 2
   Molineux, Wolverhampton (10,000)
Wake ~ J.Smith (2)
City started with Gordon Wright
 
Division Two Table
Team P
Bradford City 26 38
Derby County 25 36
Oldham Athletic 25 35
West Bromwich Albion 26 34
Fulham 26 34
Hull City 27 34
Burnley 26 30
Leicester Fosse 25 30
Stoke 26 27
Wolverhampton Wanderers 27 27
Stockport County 26 23
Leeds City 26 23
Gainsborough Trinity 26 23
Barnsley 25 22
Clapton Orient 25 22
Glossop 24 18
Blackpool 26 15
Grimsby Town 25 15
Chesterfield Town 24 14
Lincoln City 26 12
Bradford City were leading the pack and put in another impressive performance in despatching Gainsborough on their own ground.
  
 
       Source Notes
TheFA
England Football Factbook
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
Rothman's Yearbooks
The Football Association Yearbooks
Original Newspaper Reports
Ancestry.com
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