Match Summary

England Team

Scotland Team

The skill of the English eleven prevailed on Saturday at Goodison-park, Liverpool, and the Scotchmen were thoroughly beaten by three goals to none. At almost every point the home game possessed more dash and precision, but the secret of the superiority could easily be traced to the play of the English half-backs, who not only broke up the visitors' combination, but few their own forwards so well as to lay the foundation for the majority of the sharp attacks on the Scottish goal. The best thing in the visitors' football was their strong defence at full back and in goal. M'Arthur had more to do than Sutcliffe, but the latter's manner of getting the ball away in the second period was one of the most striking features of the match. Six years ago Scotland had the majority of 11 victories to three in the matches with England ; but they have not won a game since, and the last few seasons have seen England considerably reduce this difference between the records. In fact, Saturday's was their seventh success in the 24 years during which the contest has taken place. Goodison-park, which is the headquarters of the Everton Club, makes a fine ground for the accommodation of the public, and there were quite 30,000 people present. There was no change in the originally chosen elevens, and both were warmly cheered as they entered the field of play.

With the wind in their faces England started the game some ten minutes after the advertised time---4 o'clock...

...The left wings had taken the ball up and a free kick had fallen to the home side. This was well judged by Holt, who sent the ball up to Bloomer, and the latter kicked it between the posts. More fine passing among the English forwards with plenty of good centres from Bassett and Smith kept the Scotch defence closely engaged, and at last the ball went in from the left to Goodall, who made a shot that M'Arthur failed to get properly away, and the ball went back into the goal off one of the defenders...

In the last minute of the first half a good opening presented itself to Smith, and this he promptly seized, and this goal brought England's score at the interval to three to none. - The Times - Monday 8th April, 1895

At their twelfth attempt, this is the first clean sheet that England have managed against Scotland at home.

 

Football League Division One 6 April 1895
Team	P	Pts
Sunderland	28	43
Everton	26	39
Aston Villa	28	37
Blackburn Rovers	28	31
Nottingham Forest	27	31
Preston North End	27	30
Sheffield United	28	30
The Wednesday	27	28
Burnley	28	26
Small Heath	29	23
Wolverhampton Wanderers	27	22
Bolton Wanderers	27	21
Liverpool	28	21
West Bromwich Albion	27	20
Derby County	28	20
Stoke	27	18

 

Division One matches played on 6 April 1895:

ASTON VILLA 5-0 BURNLEY
Dorrell 2, Athersmith, Hodgetts, Chatt
 4,000 (Wellington Road, Birmingham)

Villa were without Reynolds and Smith, who were playing (Smith scoring) for England against Scotland at Liverpool, as was Burnley's Jimmy Crabtree.

DERBY COUNTY 0-0 BLACKBURN ROVERS
2,000 (Racecourse Ground, Derby)

Derby were without Bloomer and Goodall, who were playing (Bloomer scoring) for England against Scotland at Liverpool.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3-0 LIVERPOOL
Carnelly 2, McInnes
4,000 (Town Ground, Nottingham)

THE WEDNESDAY 0-0 STOKE 
MATCH ABANDONED AFTER 85 MINUTES - REFEREE RETIRED
3,000 (Olive Grove, Sheffield)

 

The game at Sheffield was brought to a premature end when a spectator threw mud at the referee, during a period of hostile abuse against the official, in disagreement with his decisions. His severe reaction was to immediately walk off the field and out of the ground. Five days later, the Football League ordered the game to be replayed, with the same referee, John Lewis. Stoke won, 4-2 and then escaped relegation by winning their test match at the end of the season.

 

Football League Division Two 6 April 1895
Team	P	Pts
Bury	27	45
Newton Heath	26	36
Notts County	28	36
Darwen	27	34
Grimsby Town	27	34
Leicester Fosse	28	34
Woolwich Arsenal	28	32
Burton Wanderers	26	30
Manchester City	27	27
Newcastle United	27	25
Burton Swifts	28	25
Rotherham Town	28	20
Lincoln City	27	16
Walsall Town Swifts	26	16
Burslem Port Vale	28	14
Crewe Alexandra	26	10

 

Division Two matches played on 6 April 1895:

BURSLEM PORT VALE 5-0 GRIMSBY TOWN
 Dean 2, Evans, Beats, Mason
800 (Athletic Ground, Stoke)

BURTON SWIFTS 0-1 BURY
(Barbour)
2,500 (Peel Croft, Burton)

DARWEN 4-0 MANCHESTER CITY
Townley, Shaw 3
3,000 (Barley Bank, Darwen)

LINCOLN CITY 1-2 LEICESTER FOSSE
Blades (Gallacher, McArthur)
2,000 (John O'Gaunts, Lincoln)

NEWTON HEATH 5-1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Cassidy 2, Smith 2, McDermott o.g. (Dickson)
6,000 (Bank Street, Manchester)

WOOLWICH ARSENAL 7-0 CREWE ALEXANDRA
Davis, Hare, Crawford, O'Brien, Buchanan 2, Boyle
5,000 (Manor Ground, London)

 

 

Bury's victory secured the Second Division Championship for them, but they did not secure promotion to the top flight until three weeks later, when they defeated Liverpool in a test match. It was their first season in the Football League.

IN OTHER NEWS...

It was on 7 April 1895 that the disgraced former MP, Jabez Balfour left Buenos Aires on a ship bound for Southampton after being arrested by Inspector Frank Froest of Scotland Yard. He was to face charges of conspiracy and fraud amounting to around £7 million in his directorship of a number of companies. Balfour was sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzlement and his likeness even appeared in Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum at the height of his notoriety.

Source Notes

England Football Factbook: Cris Freddi
Scottish Football Association
Scotland - The Complete International Record: Richard Keir
London Hearts
original newspaper reports
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
England Expects: James Corbett, [2006] p27 & 28.
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CG