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250 vs. Wales

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266 vs. Wales
Wednesday, 15 November 1950
Home International Championship 1950-51 (56th) Match

 
England
 4 Wales 2
[2-0]
 

Roker Park Stadium, Association Road, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, County Durham
Kick-off (GMT): 2.30pm.

Attendance: '59,137'.




Players lost since last match
Vince Matthews (TODAY) 54
England kicked-off Wales won the toss
   
[1-0] Eddie Baily 31
 flicked the ball up with his right foot and shot with his left
[2-0] Eddie Baily 40

 shot following a move between Mannion and Watson
[0-0] Roy Clarke scores - disallowed: offside
2.0 Woman's Hour 3.0 Ken Macintosh & his Orchestra 3.30 Forces Education Broadcast
3.45
England v. Wales
4.15 Mrs Dale's Diary 4.30 Victor Silvester 5.0 BBC Northern Orch.


[3-2] Wilf Mannion 66

 flicked the ball past Hughes after Watson and Milburn created an opening

[4-2] Jackie Milburn
'last thirty seconds'

 quick shot from an acute angle on the turn
[2-1] Trevor Ford header 48
headed the ball in from a Mervyn Griffiths centre

[2-2] Trevor Ford header 71
another header of the ball past Williams from a Mervyn Griffiths pass
last half hour live on the Radio Light Programme - Commentator: tbc
 
"ENGLAND FORWARDS WERE SUPERB" Daily Herald
Officials England UK ruling on substitutes Wales
Referee
John Alexander Mowat
43/44 (1906), Rutherglen
"The gates will be opened at 12.45 and for the first time in England, the Football Association's new flag, designed by the Heraldry Office, will be flown at Roker Park" - The Sunderland Echo, Tuesday, 14 November 1950
Linesmen
Ian C. Inglis
Edinburgh
William H. Quinn
Dumfries
 
England Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 4th
Colours The 1949 home uniform - White collared jerseys, blue shorts, black socks with white tops.
P 15th of 43, W 11 - D 0 - L 4 - F 44 - A 21.

Captain
Alf Ramsey  Manager Walter Winterbottom, 37 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
first of three, W 1 - D 0 - L 0 - F 4 - A 2. Trainer: George Gray (Sunderland AFC) P 34th of 139, W 25 - D 3 - L 6 - F 110 - A 36.
  Team chosen by Selection Committee headed by Arthur Drewry, on Tuesday, 7 November, in London.
England Lineup
  six changes to the previous match (Aston, Wright, Chilton, Matthews, Lee & Langton out) league position (7 November)  
  Williams, Bert F. 30
288 days
31 January 1920 G Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 6th) 12 13ᵍᵃ
2 Ramsey, Alfred E. 30
297 days
22 January 1920 RB Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL 4th) 10 0
699 3 Smith, Lionel 30
84 days
23 August 1920 LB Arsenal FC (FL TOP) 1 0
the 20th/21st Arsenal player to represent England
4 Watson, Willie 30
253 days
7 March 1920 RHB Sunderland AFC (FL 16th) 3 0
700 5 Compton, Leslie H. 38
64 days
12 September 1912 CHB Arsenal FC (FL TOP) 1 0
oldest outfield debutant the 20th/21st Arsenal player to represent England
6 Dickinson, James W. 25
205 days
24 April 1925 LHB Portsmouth FC (FL 14th) 12 0
7 Finney, Thomas 28
224 days
5 April 1922 OR Preston North End FC (FL2 10th) 29 18
8
Mannion, Wilfred J. 32
183 days
16 May 1918 IR Middlesbrough FC (FL 3rd) 23 11
9
Milburn, John E.T. 26
188 days
11 May 1924 CF Newcastle United FC (FL 2nd) 9 7
10
Baily, Edward F. 25
101 days
6 August 1925 IL Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL 4th) 3 4
the 154th (21st post-war) brace scored
701 11 Medley, Leslie D. 30
73 days
3 September 1920 OL Tottenham Hotspur FC (FL 4th) 1 0
the 19th Hotspur player to represent England  
reserves: Willie Watson and Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers FC (FL 11th)). Watson was not replaced.
"The English selectors will not call upon another reserve. Should the unexpected occur there are enough top-class players in the Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough areas to call upon at the last moment." - The Press and Journal, Tuesday, 14 November 1950.
team changes: Billy Wright (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 6th)), original captain and right-half, was in line to win his record 34th consecutive appearance, until he received a strained back in his team's match against Burnley. Despite treatment, he was withdrawn on Monday, 13th. Watson took his place the day before the match.
team notes: Following the debuts of Smith, Compton and Medley, the International Selection Committee, in the Winterbottom era, have now used fifty different players.
records: This is England's sixth victory in 1950, a record-equalling achievement.
England team were set up at the Seaburn Hotel in Whitley Bay and trained on the North Shields ground, prior to this match.
 
2-3-5 Williams -
Ramsey, Smith -
Watson, Compton, Dickinson -
Finney, Mannion, Milburn, Baily, Medley
Averages: Age 29 years 346 days Appearances/Goals 9.5 3.3
 
Wales Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 25th
Colours Made by Umbro - Red jerseys with white collars, white shorts, red socks with white tops.
Captain Wally Barnes Selection Selection Committee
on Monday, 30 October 1950
led by the secretary, Herbert Powell
Wales Lineup
  Hughes, Iowerth 25
173 days
26 May 1925 G Luton Town FC 1 4ᵍᵃ
2 Barnes, Wallace 30
303 days
16 January 1920 RB Arsenal FC, England 12 0
3 Sherwood, Alfred T. 27
2 days
13 November 1923 LB Cardiff City FC 15 0
4 Paul, Roy 30
211 days
18 April 1920 RHB Manchester City FC, England 11 1
5 Daniel, W. Raymond 22
13 days
2 November 1928 CHB Arsenal FC, England 1 0
6 Lucas, William H. 32
304 days
15 January 1918 LHB Swansea Town FC 7 0
final app 1948-50
7
Griffiths, W. Malwyn 31
252 days
8 March 1919 OR Leicester City FC, England 7 1
8 Allen, Brynley W. 29
237 days
23 March 1921 IR Coventry City FC, England 2 0
final app 1950
9
Ford, Trevor 27
45 days
1 October 1923 CF Sunderland AFC, England 16 12
=mst gls
10 Allchurch, Ivor J. 20
334 days
16 December 1929 IL Swansea Town FC 1 0
11 Clarke, Royston J. 25
167 days
1 June 1925 OL Manchester City FC, England 6 1
reserves: Ron Stitfall (Cardiff City). Billy Lucas (Swansea Town FC) was asked to be a travelling reserve a couple of days prior.
team changes: On the day of the match, Ron Burgess (Tottenham Hotspur FC) had to withdraw because of injury (swollen right calf muscle), his place going to Lucas, who had been called up as a travelling reserve the day before.
team notes: Ray Daniels, the Arsenal FC reserve centre-half, had only played in seven league matches over the past three seasons.
Trevor Ford becomes the first Sunderland player to play for Wales since 1910, thirteen days after signing for the Wearside club.
Prior to this match, the Welsh team were training on Newcastle United's St. James' Park.
 
2-3-5 Hughes -
Barnes, Sherwood -
Paul, Daniel, Lucas -
Griifiths, Allen, Ford, Allchurch, Clarke.
Averages: Age 27 years 220 days Appearances/Goals 7.2 1.0
 
              Match Report by Mike Payne

This was undoubtedly the best Welsh performance against England since the war and the fact that England, at times, had to be at their most brilliant best says it all. On a treacherous surface and on a bitterly cold day, the football served up warmed the crowd to fever pitch as the excitement grew.

Excellent precision passing by Wilf Mannion, Eddie Baily, Jackie Milburn, Les Medley and Tom Finney had given England a bright opening. However, the Welsh terriers were continually snapping at their heels with Daniel, Paul and Lucas working tirelessly in the midfield battle. Gradually though the extra class began to show and three of the four England goals were pure genius.

Wales had the ball in the net on the half-hour but Clarke's shot was ruled out for offside. A few seconds later, England took the lead as a long controlled clearance by Lionel Smith, who had a good game, reached Baily on the edge of the penalty area. The Spurs player flicked the ball up with his right foot and crashed it into the net with his left for a wonderful goal.

The England attack, well prompted by Willie Watson and Jimmy Dickinson, then began to flow superbly. The ball was moving forward quickly and smoothly.

Five minutes before half-time England scored their second. Again it was a shot by Baily that did the trick when he finished off a splendid round of passing by Finney, Mannion, Watson and Mannion again. It seemed that the 2-0 interval lead had put England clear but with Allchurch and Ford showing some tremendous play it was far from over.

Indeed, with only three minutes of the second half gone Wales pulled a goal back. Griffiths put over a fine centre which landed between Leslie Compton and Bert Williams, and before either could react, Ford nipped in smartly to flick the ball in with his head.

It was end to end stuff now as both sides searched for another goal. Ford forced two brilliant saves out of Williams and then Baily saw his 20-yard shot strike the Welsh crossbar. A scramble on the England goal-line almost produced an equaliser before, on 66 minutes, the home side engineered the next crucial goal. Again it was a super strike. Mannion was the man on target this time, cleverly flicking the ball past Hughes after Watson and Milburn had created the opening.

Still Wales refused to lie down and five minutes later it was 3-2. Once more the combination of Griffiths and Ford gave the centre-forward the chance to touch the ball past Williams with the other England defenders off balance. So the excitement continued until the dying seconds, after another flowing move between Finney, Mannion, Baily and Milburn, the England number-nine shot home from an acute angle. That put the final stamp on England's extra quality and authority and was the last action of a magnificent afternoon's football.

  

              Match Report by Norman Giller

Injured Billy Wright missed his first after 33 successive matches. Alf Ramsey took over as skipper. Eddie Baily, nicknamed the 'Cheeky Chappie' because of his impersonation of comedian Max Miller, repeated his two-goal act. Arsenal centre-half Leslie Compton made his England debut at the age of thirty-eight alongside County cricketing colleague Willie Watson. Leslie remains the oldest player ever to have made an England debut. Les Medley partnered his Tottenham team-mate Baily on the left wing. Lionel Smith, converted from centre-half by Arsenal, came in at left-back. Goalkeeper Bert Williams kept his place in goal to maintain the Wolves record of having at least one player in the England team in every international match since the war. Trevor Ford, playing for Wales in front of his Sunderland fans, scored twice in the second half to give the Welsh the hope of a championship point. It was not until Jackie Milburn scored in the final seconds that England could feel confident that they had the match won.
 

              Match Report as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1951-52, page 23

For England's next match, against Wales at Roker Park, Sunderland, there were several changes from the team that beat Ireland; Finney, Milburn, and Medley replacing Matthews, Lee and Langton in the forward line, and Smith, Watson and Compton (L) replacing Aston, Wright and Chilton in defence.
This was one of the best International matches seen since the war, with both sides playing superb football. England's first goal came in the 30th minute, after a claim for a Welsh goal had been disallowed: it was Baily who scored with a classic left-foot shot after a pass from Smith. Five minutes before the interval, Baily scored again after Finney, Mannion and Watson had taken part in a complicated round of passing.
Though Wales were two-down at half-time, they kept up the fight to the end, Ford, their centre-forward particularly distinguishing himself. Three minutes after the interval, Griffiths pitched a perfect centre between Compton and Williams, and Ford flicked the ball into the net. Wales then went into the attack and there were some awkward moments for England. But after 21 minutes England went further ahead with a fine goal by Mannion after Watson and Milburn had made an opening. Wales still refused to accept defeat, and five minutes later the score was 2-3, Ford again scoring with a fast low shot from a pass by Griffiths. In the last seconds, Milburn was successful with an acute angle shot after a clever movement by Finney, Mannion and Baily, and set the seal on England's victory.

     In Other News....
It was on 15 November 1950 that the inquiry into the Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery disaster in Ayrshire, two months earlier, continued to deliberate on the causes, whereby 13 men had died when a huge underground lake of peat and moss sank into the mine, creating a surface crater that covered two acres to a depth of up to 45 feet, above it. 116 men escaped, but were trapped underground for over two days before being rescued. Less than two years later, a dramatised film of the disaster, called 'The Brave Don't Cry', was released.
              Source Notes
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Wales' Complete Who's Who since 1946
Drew Herbertson, Scottish FA historian
  Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record

Norman Giller, Football Author
British Pathé
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