A STRONG wind and some inconsistent refereeing decisions made for a very disappointing match at Hampden Park in this annual game between two old adversaries. Scotland, seeking their first victory on home soil against England since 1937, should have won handsomely and but for some woeful finishing would have done. At the end of the day, though, they were lucky to escape with a draw.

St John was a real livewire at centre-forward and gave Bill Slater a torrid time throughout the game. The Wolves defender suffered a nightmare. Four excellent chances were created down the middle for Scotland and each one of them stemmed from an inexplicable error by Slater.

In the 17th minute, one of them was punished by Leggat. Ron Flowers had just thundered a free-kick against the Scottish crossbar before Scotland broke quickly into attack. Slater lost the ball in the air to St John, but recovered to regain possession, only to then set up Leggat with a disastrously short back-pass. The winger sped forward to plant a splendid shot wide of Ron Springett's dive.

Immediately after the goal, Baker scrambled the ball into the Scottish net after challenging Haffey. It was reminiscent of Nat Lofthouse's goal in the 1958 Cup Final, but this time the referee ruled out the effort. So at half-time, Scotland led, for the first time since the war, much to the delight of the crowd. But England, now with the wind at their backs, were soon level after the interval.

Baker, who received little support from his inside-forwards Ray Parry and Peter Broadbent, sent a fine pass to Bobby Charlton. The winger strode into the penalty area and was brought down by a trip from full-back MacKay. Not for the first time in the match, the [Hungarian] referee's decision was not entirely agreed upon. However, a penalty it was and Charlton himself took it, sending Haffey the wrong way with his spot-kick.

Later, the other chances courtesy of Mr Slater duly presented themselves. Three times, errors on the ground left St John free, but each time the number-nine lost his composure and Springett out-thought him to make the save.

Springett was undoubtedly England's main saviour and he again gave a very assured performance. Twice more he made brave saves at the feet of Leggat and St John. Flowers, too, had a fine game and was full of tireless effort. For Ray Wilson it was an eventful match. He looked composed and confident and enjoyed an excellent debut, all this after the full-back had broken his nose in the second minute!

For Scotland, Haffey looked decidedly shaky at times but their star was the red-haired Evans, who was outstanding and rock-like in defence. The other impressive Scot was the tireless Law at inside-left. He covered every inch of Hampden in supporting both his defence and his attack, showing immense stamina and true Scottish fire. Ronnie Clayton could not get near him and the blond-haired will-o-the-wisp enjoyed every moment of it.

An amazing incident could easily have swung the match England's way near the end. After showing a distant lack of thrust all through, they were suddenly awarded a second penalty. Charlton again took the kick, only to shoot straight at Haffey. The referee ordered a retake as Caldow had encroached into the penalty area and amid deafening boos , Charlton had another chance. This time he made a total hash of it, shooting well wide.

Perhaps that was justice in a way as Scotland, at the very least, deserved their draw.
      

Tottenham brought the club-or-country issue to boiling point by refusing to release their three Scots, Dave Mackay, Bill Brown and John White, for this match. The referee awarded fifty-five free-kicks and three penalties, two of which were missed. Bobby Charlton converted from the penalty spot, and failed to find the net with a second twice-taken penalty. Graham Leggat, partnered by lan St John and Denis Law, scored Scotland's goal following a suicidal back pass from Bill Slater. This gave Scotland a half-time lead over England for the first time since the war, but Charlton's successful second-half penalty meant they had now gone since 1937 without beating the auld enemy on home territory. Ray Wilson, starting his distinguished England career at left-back, played on despite collecting a broken nose in the second minute, and Joe Baker battled on with a dislocated shoulder. Surely somebody would one day see the sense for substitutes, even if only for injured players?
 

In a game spoilt by bad conditions, a bumpy pitch, and too many minor stoppages, the standard of play fell well below that expected of this great annual contest. England reshaped their team with Armfield and Wilson at full-back, Slater at centre-half, and Charlton at outside-left; Broadbent was reintroduced at inside-right in playe of Haynes who had been injured the previous week. But the changes were not as successful as had been hoped. Armfield and Wilson held an uncertain Scottish forward line, in which only Law was outstanding; at centre-half, Slater was badly off form and the problem of filling the gap caused by Billy Wright's retirement remained unsolved. The forwards also had a poor day and seldom looked like scoring. A slip by Slater allowed Scotland to take the lead after 16 minutes, when Leggat moved on to the ball and scored with a fine shot from 18 yds. From a penalty-kick taken by Charlton - a harsh decision - England equalised. Twenty-six minutes later he took another but missed. Earlier, Flowers had hit the Scottish cross-bar with a great drive, and a goal by Baker was disallowed.