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158 vs. Wales
 159
160 vs. France

Saturday, 31 March 1928
Home International Championship 1927-28 (40th) Match

England 1 Scotland 5 [0-2]
 

 Match Summary
England Party
Scotland Party

Empire Stadium, Wembley Park, Wembley, Middlesex
Attendance: 80,868; a new record high for England at the Stadium
 Kick-off: tbc GMT
Second half live on London Radio - commentator: George Allison

Scotland - Alex Jackson (headed in Morton's accurate cross 4, headed in another Morton cross 65, a shot from a third Morton cross 85), Alex James (He slipped two defenders astutely before beating Hufton 44, ran onto a rebound 66)
England - Bob Kelly (twenty-five yard free-kick 89)
Results 1919-30

England won the toss, Scotland kicked-off.
 

Match Summary

Officials

England

Type

Scotland
Referee - William Bell
 Scotland

Linesmen - not known
  Their Majesties the King and Queen of Afghanistan were in attendance, accompanied by HRH Duke of York. The victorious Scottish team of 1900 were also present at this match, led by Bob McColl. Only the deceased Nicol Smith was missing.

   Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

England Team
 

Rank:

 No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 13th to 16th		 Colours: The 1923 uniform - White collared jerseys and dark club shorts
Capt: Roy Goodall, first captaincy Selectors: The fourteen-man FA International Selection Committee, following the inter-league match, on Monday, 26 March 1928.
126th match, W 80 - D 25 - L 21 - F 382 - A 137.
England Lineup
  Hufton, A. Edward 35 25 November 1892 G West Ham United FC 3 8 GA
  Goodall, F. Roy 25 31 December 1902 RB Huddersfield Town FC 7 0
  Jones, Herbert 31 3 December 1896 LB Blackburn Rovers FC 6 0
  Edwards, Willis 24 28 April 1903 RH Leeds United AFC 9 0
  Wilson, Thomas 31 16 April 1896 CH Huddersfield Town FC 1 0
  Healless, Henry 35 9 February 1893 LH Blackburn Rovers FC 2 0
  Hulme, Joseph H.A. 23 26 August 1904 OR Arsenal FC 6 1
Kelly, Robert 34 16 November 1893 IR Huddersfield Town AFC 14 8
  Dean, William R. 21 22 January 1907 CF Everton FC 8 12
  Bradford, Joseph 27 22 January 1901 IL Birmingham FC 3 3
  Smith, William H. 32 23 May 1895 OL Huddersfield Town FC 3 0

reserves:

 George Briggs (Birmingham FC)

team notes:

 On the morning of the match, reserve and right-half Harry Healless replaced Leicester City FC's Sid Bishop at left-half. The captain's armband was given to Goodall for the first time.
Bob Kelly becomes England's oldest goalscorer, aged 34 years and 136 days, and his free-kick was only the third scored by England, the first since 1906.
This defeat equals England's record of three losses in a row, set back in 1878.
Not since December 1924 against Belgium have England won a home match. They have now gone five without victory.
 
2-3-5 Hufton -
Goodall, Jones -
Edwards, Wilson, Healless -
Hulme, Kelly, Dean, Bradford, Smith

Averages:

 Age 28.9 Appearances/Goals 5.6 2.1

England teams v. Scotland:

1927:

 J.Brown Goodall Jones Edwards Hill Bishop Hulme G.Brown Dean Rigby Page

1928:

 Hufton Goodall Jones Edwards Wilson Healless Hulme Kelly Dean Bradford Smith

 

Scotland Team
 

Rank:

 No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 5th to 4th		 Colours: Dark blue shirts with white collars, white shorts
Capt: Jimmy McMullan Selectors:
Trainer : J. Kerr (Rangers FC)		 The Scottish Football Association Selection Committee, of seven members, chosen, following the inter-league match, on Tuesday, 20 March 1928.
Scotland Lineup
  Harkness, John D. 20 27 September 1907 G Queen's Park FC 3 3 GA
  Nelson, James 27 7 January 1901 RB Cardiff City FC, Wales 3 0
  Law, Thomas 19 1 April 1908 LB Chelsea FC, England 1 0
  Gibson, James D. 26 12 June 1901 RH Aston Villa FC, England 6 0
  Bradshaw, Thomas 24 7 February 1904 CH Bury FC, England 1 0
  McMullan, James 33 26 March 1895 LH Manchester City FC, England 13 0
Jackson, Alexander S. 22 12 May 1905 OR Huddersfield Town FC, England 10 6
  Dunn, James 27 25 November 1900 IR Hibernian FC 5 1
  Gallacher, Hugh K. 25 2 February 1903 CF Newcastle United FC, England 12 10
James, Alexander W. 26 14 September 1901 IL Preston North End FC, England 2 2
  Morton, Alan L. 34 24 April 1893 OL Rangers FC 19 5

reserves:

 Tom Craig (Rangers FC is the travelling reserve). William Robb (Hibernian FC), Billy McStay (The Celtic FC), Davie Meiklejohn (Rangers FC), Henry Ritchie (Hibernian FC), Lochhead, David McCrae (St. Mirren FC), George Stevenson (Motherwell FC) and Alex Troup (Everton FC).

team notes:

 Jimmy Gibson is the son of Neilly Gibson, who played for Scotland against England between 1895 and 1900.
"THE SCOTS' MIDGETS In view of the comments on the lack of inches in the Scottish attack for Wembley, the players' heights are interesting. Dunn is 5ft 6in, Gallacher 5ft 5in, James 5ft 6½in, Morton is 5ft 4½in and Jackson 5ft 10in."
 
2-3-5 Harkness -
Nelson, Law -
Gibson, Bradshaw, McMullan -
Jackson, Dunn, Gallacher, James, Morton.

Averages:

 Age 25.7 Appearances/Goals 6.8 1.7

 

    Match Report by Glen Isherwood
Wales had already won the British Championship for the fourth time, beating England 2-1 at Turf Moor on the way. Ireland had finished runners-up after beating both England and Scotland who were now left to fight for bottom place. Scotland, British Champions for the previous three years, needed a point to avoid finishing bottom for the first time. England, who had shared the Championship the previous year, needed to win to avoid finishing last for the third time in five years.

Scotland humiliated England with skill and speed in very wet conditions to earn the legendary status of 'Wembley Wizards'. The turning point came very early, when a shot from Smith hit the inside of a post. Scotland cleared the ball upfield, and promptly took the lead; Alan Morton's cross being headed in by Alec Jackson. Just before half-time, Alex James beat two men and smashed the ball past Hufton, from outside the box.

In the second half, England were outplayed by Scotland's diminutive forwards. In the 66th minute, James again beat two defenders and his cross was headed in by Jackson. A few minutes later, a Gallacher run was stopped by Jones but the ball fell for James. With five minutes remaining, another Morton cross was met by a spectacular Jackson finish, to complete his hat-trick and England astonishingly, were five goals down. In the dying seconds, Bob Kelly scored for England from a free kick from well outside the box.

England had lost all three of their British Championship games for the first time, and had suffered their heaviest defeat since losing 6-1 to Scotland at the Kennington Oval in 1881. Scotland regained the Championship the following year, beating runners-up England 1-0 at Hampden Park. But it was another ten years before Scotland won again at Wembley and England were to take their revenge in 1930.

    Football League
Football League Division One
31 March 1928
Team P Pts
Huddersfield Town 33 44
Everton 35 41
Leicester City 35 39
Cardiff City 35 38
Bolton Wanderers 35 37
West Ham United 35 36
Derby County 35 35
Tottenham Hotspur 36 35
Blackburn Rovers 34 35
Burnley 36 35
Portsmouth 35 35
Newcastle United 34 34
Birmingham 35 34
Bury 36 34
Sunderland 33 33
Aston Villa 34 33
Arsenal 33 33
Liverpool 35 32
Middlesbrough 35 32
Sheffield United 33 31
Manchester United 34 29
The Wednesday 34 25

 

Division One matches played on 31 March 1928:

ARSENAL 2-2 BIRMINGHAM
Buchan 2 (Crosbie, Ellis)
13,990 (Highbury, London)

Arsenal were without Joe Hulme, who was playing against Scotland at Wembley, whilst Birmingham were without Bradford, who was also playing against Scotland, and Briggs, who was a reserve against Scotland. 

ASTON VILLA 3-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
Smart pen., Waring, Cook (Rawlings)
24,691 (Villa Park, Birmingham)

Villa were without Jimmy Gibson, who was playing for Scotland against England at Wembley.

BURNLEY 5-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Beel 2, Hill, Bruton, Page (Wilkinson)
12,454 (Turf Moor, Burnley)

Newcastle were without Hughie Gallacher, who was playing for Scotland against England at Wembley.

BURY 2-3 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
Smith 2 (Wilson, Raw, Dent)
14,968 (Gigg Lane, Bury)

Bury were without Tom Bradshaw, who was making his only international appearance, for Scotland against England at Wembley, whilst Huddersfield were without Goodall (the captain), Kelly (who scored England's goal), Smith and Wilson (making his only international appearance), who were playing against Scotland, and Jackson, who scored a hat-trick for Scotland. 

DERBY COUNTY 7-1 CARDIFF CITY
Bedford 4, Whitehouse 2, Crooks (Thirlaway)
15,565 (Baseball Ground, Derby)

Cardiff were without Jimmy Nelson, who was playing for Scotland against England at Wembley.

LEICESTER CITY 2-2 THE WEDNESDAY
Hine, Chandler (Prince, Trotter)
18,634 (Filbert Street, Leicester)

LIVERPOOL 1-1 MIDDLESBROUGH
Hodgson (Millar)
26,840 (Anfield, Liverpool)

PORTSMOUTH 1-0 BOLTON WANDERERS
Weddle
21,846 (Fratton Park, Portsmouth)

SHEFFIELD UNITED 3-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Johnson 2, Phillipson (Handley)
17,495 (Bramall Lane, Sheffield)

SUNDERLAND 0-2 EVERTON
(Virr, Easton)
15,407 (Roker Park, Sunderland)

Everton were without Bill Dean, who was playing against Scotland at Wembley.

WEST HAM UNITED 4-3 BLACKBURN ROVERS
Moore, Earle, Ruffell 2 (Roscamp 2, Thornewell)
12,504 (Upton Park, London)

West Ham were without Ted Hufton, who was in goal against Scotland at Wembley, whilst Blackburn were without Healless and Jones, who were also playing against Scotland.

Because of their international call-ups, Huddersfield fielded five players making their top-flight debuts and still won to maintain a three-point lead over Everton, with two games in hand. Two days later, they won through to the FA Cup Final, but then lost six of their next nine games, including the final. Everton won five of their next six games and the title was theirs.

Football League Division Two
31 March 1928
Team P Pts
Leeds United 35 48
Chelsea 35 48
Preston North End 35 48
Manchester City 33 48
Stoke City 35 42
Oldham Athletic 34 40
West Bromwich Albion 35 38
Nottingham Forest 34 37
Port Vale 34 35
Swansea Town 34 35
Bristol City 36 35
Grimsby Town 36 35
Hull City 34 33
Reading 35 30
Barnsley 35 29
Wolverhampton Wanderers 34 29
Notts County 35 28
Clapton Orient 34 28
Southampton 35 27
Fulham 35 27
Blackpool 36 27
South Shields 35 17

 

Division Two matches played on 31 March 1928:

BARNSLEY 0-0 NOTTS COUNTY
5,619 (Oakwell, Barnsley)

FULHAM 1-0 SOUTHAMPTON
Smith
9,316 (Craven Cottage, London)

HULL CITY 1-1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Howieson (Bromage)
7,964 (Anlaby Road, Hull)

LEEDS UNITED 4-0 BLACKPOOL
Wainscoat 2, Mitchell, Armand
19,630 (Elland Road, Leeds)

Leeds were without Willis Edwards, who was playing against Scotland at Wembley.

MANCHESTER CITY 5-3 CLAPTON ORIENT
Roberts 3, 1 pen., Horne, Brook (Turnbull 2, Batten)
38,272 (Maine Road, Manchester)

City were without Jimmy McMullan, who was playing for Scotland against England at Wembley.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2-2 CHELSEA
Townsend, Thompson pen. (Thompson, Jackson)
10,989 (City Ground, Nottingham)

Chelsea were without Tommy Law, who was making his international debut, for Scotland against England at Wembley.

PORT VALE 2-2 GRIMSBY TOWN
Calderwood o.g., Simms (Bestall, Robson)
9,125 (Old Recreation Ground, Stoke)

PRESTON NORTH END 5-1 BRISTOL CITY
Robson 2, Cameron, Russell 2 (Keating)
14,744 (Deepdale, Preston)

Preston were without Alex James, who scored twice for Scotland against England at Wembley.

SOUTH SHIELDS 0-0 READING
3,301 (Horsley Hill, South Shields)

SWANSEA TOWN 1-1 STOKE CITY
Lewis (Armitage)
10,893 (Vetch Field, Swansea)

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 3-1 OLDHAM ATHLETIC
Weaver 2, Chadwick (Taylor)
14,631 (Molineux, Wolverhampton)

Four clubs, all level on points, were now competing for two promotion places. Manchester City had two games in hand and they would win the title, whilst Leeds were on a run of nine games without conceding a goal and it would take them to the runners-up spot behind City.

Division Three on 31 March 1928:

Bradford led the northern section by ten points from Doncaster Rovers, whose game in hand would not be enough to catch them, despite them also completing the 'double' over the leaders. Millwall led the southern section by six points from Northampton Town, whose game in hand was never going to stop the Londoners from their first ever promotion.

IN OTHER NEWS...

It was on 30 March 1928 that Thomas Boyle of County Clare in Ireland received a bronze medal for gallantry from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for leading a rescue of three men shipwrecked on a remote island. When their boat was swept ashore on the mainland, Boyle led two others in a canvas canoe in a strong gale to bring the men home after they had been lost for fifty hours without food.

Source Notes

Huddersfield Town AFC requested that their match with Bury FC be postponed due to the fact that five players had been selected for the upcoming International match.  Another two players were injured and yet another player was poorly. Despite this, the League Committee turned down their request. - Scotsman, 11 April 1934

Scottish Football Association
Scotland - The Complete International Record: Richard Keir
London Hearts
Glen Isherwood's Wembley: The Complete Record (SportsBooks Limited, Cheltenham, U.K., 2006)
original newspaper reports
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
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CG