Match Summary

England Team

Scotland Team

Never perhaps has an international match been played on a ground in such a deplorable condition as was the sports arena at the Crystal Palace on Saturday, when the match between England and Scotland resulted in a draw, each team scoring two goals. Torrents of rain in the morning had left the turf almost under water. Large pools were visible, and at one time serious thoughts were entertained of postponing the match. Such a necessity would have caused great inconvenience, apart from the immediate disappointment and the determination to go through with the game at all hazards was undoubtedly the right course. As it happened events turned out better than could be expected. The rain ceased, the weather gradually brightened until the sun shone out quite brilliantly, and the play proved quite worthy of the occasion. The manner in which the teams overcame the difficulties with which they had to contend was quite extraordinary. The soft turf, completely soaked, afforded no sure foothold, and it was impossible to judge the pace at which the ball would travel on such a surface. But the men did not seem to be seriously troubled, and a splendid contest, which was drawn at two goals all, was the result of their meeting. After the first few minutes the football all round was extremely good, and the keenness of the struggle so great that the game will live long in the memories of those present. It needed some hardihood to brave the storms of the morning, and before the rain ceased the Palace ground presented a desolate appearance. With the first signs of improving weather, however, the spectators began to take up their positions, until the crowd reached 18,000--the numbers given in the official return being slightly above these figures.

From the only penalty kick of the match Needham failed to score, and it was less than ten minutes from half-time when the efforts of the Englishmen were rewarded by Blackburn scoring. He was standing so close to the goal when the ball came to him from loose play that the appeals for off-side were well warranted. They were unavailing, however, and England had a goal with which to start the second half...

...He was beaten by a long, high shot from Campbell about eight minutes from the change of ends, but for another twenty minutes he did wonderful work. A goal cleverly headed by Hamilton from a centre by Walker, who had taken the ball down to the corner flag, gave the Scots the lead, and at that point they looked to have the game in hand. But five minutes later Bloomer charged down a kick by Drummond, and, with only Rennie to beat, he placed England on equal terms again...

The match was the 30th between the countries, and the record in the series now stands :--Scotland 14 wins, England nine, and seven drawn games. - The Times - Monday 1st April, 1901

 

Football League Division One 30 March 1901
Team	P	Pts
Sunderland	30	39
Nottingham Forest	29	37
Liverpool	28	34
Notts County	29	34
Bury	29	33
Everton	28	31
Newcastle United	27	30
The Wednesday	28	29
Aston Villa	29	29
Blackburn Rovers	30	29
Sheffield United	30	29
Derby County	31	27
Bolton Wanderers	29	27
Manchester City	30	26
Wolverhampton Wanderers	28	26
Stoke	31	23
Preston North End	32	23
West Bromwich Albion	28	20

 

Division One matches played on 30 March 1901:

ASTON VILLA 0-0 SHEFFIELD UNITED
9,000 (Villa Park, Birmingham)

Villa were without Albert Wilkes, who was playing against Scotland at Crystal Palace, as were Sheffield United's Bennett, and Needham (who had a penalty saved).

BOLTON WANDERERS 1-0 BLACKBURN ROVERS
Tracey
6,053 (Burnden Park, Bolton)

Bolton were without John Sutcliffe, who was playing against Scotland at Crystal Palace, as was Blackburn's Fred Blackburn, who scored the opening goal on his international debut, against Scotland.

DERBY COUNTY 4-1 STOKE
Wombwell, Arkesden, May 2 (Leech)
5,000 (Baseball Ground, Derby)

Derby were without Steve Bloomer, who scored England's equaliser against Scotland at Crystal Palace.

LIVERPOOL 3-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Hunter 2, Raybould
10,000 (Anfield, Liverpool)

Liverpool were without Alex Raisbeck, who was playing for Scotland at Crystal Palace, whilst Newcastle were without Andy Aitken, who was making his debut for Scotland.

PRESTON NORTH END 3-1 BURY
Darroch o.g., Pratt, Becton (McLuckie)
3,000 (Deepdale, Preston)

SUNDERLAND 3-0 WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Hogg, Leslie 2
10,500 (Roker Park, Sunderland)

THE WEDNESDAY 3-1 EVERTON
nk, Chapman, Spiksley (Taylor)
3,000 (Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield)

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1-0 MANCHESTER CITY
Pheasant
3,000 (Molineux, Wolverhampton)

Having won three League Championships with Sunderland, manager, Tom Watson now led Liverpool's charge to catch his old club. The Reds won six of their last seven games to win their first title, with Watson becoming the first manager to win it with two different clubs.

Football League Division Two 30 March 1901
Team	P	Pts
Grimsby Town	29	45
Burnley	28	39
Small Heath	26	38
New Brighton Tower	29	36
Middlesbrough	27	30
Woolwich Arsenal	29	30
Glossop	28	29
Burslem Port Vale	31	29
Newton Heath	29	28
Leicester Fosse	31	28
Lincoln City	29	27
Gainsborough Trinity	29	27
Blackpool	29	27
Walsall	29	24
Chesterfield Town	28	21
Barnsley	29	21
Stockport County	29	21
Burton Swifts	29	18

 

Division Two matches played on 30 March 1901:

BURNLEY 4-0 BARNSLEY
Jenkinson, Bowes, McLintock pen., Watkins
2,000 (Turf Moor, Burnley)

BURSLEM PORT VALE 4-0 BURTON SWIFTS
Price 2, Capes, Simpson
300 (Athletic Ground, Stoke)

CHESTERFIELD TOWN 3-3 GRIMSBY TOWN
Gooing, Thacker, o.g. (nk)
3,000 (Recreation Ground, Chesterfield)

GLOSSOP 6-0 BLACKPOOL
2,000 (North Road, Glossop)

LEICESTER FOSSE 5-0 WALSALL
Brown 3, Langham, Swift
2,500 (Filbert Street, Leicester)

LINCOLN CITY 3-1 SMALL HEATH
nk (McMillan)
3,000 (Sincil Bank, Lincoln)

MIDDLESBROUGH 1-1 WOOLWICH ARSENAL
Robertson (Main)
6,000 (Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough)

NEW BRIGHTON TOWER 3-2 GAINSBOROUGH TRINITY
2,000 (Tower Athletic Ground, New Brighton)

NEWTON HEATH 3-1 STOCKPORT COUNTY
Leigh, H.Morgan, Schofield (Stansfield)
4,000 (Bank Street, Manchester

Burnley moved up to second in their efforts to gain immediate promotion back up to the First Division, but it was Small Heath that would eventually secure the runners-up spot to Grimsby.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Oxford beat Cambridge in the Universities' Boat Race in very poor wet and windy conditions, but it was an exciting finish and Oxford won by less than a length.

It was on 31 March 1901 that the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the Black Sea caused a tsunami that caused severe damage to the coasts of both Bulgaria and Romania.

Source Notes

Trivia - Gilbert Smith won his twentieth appearance, overhauling Norman Bailey's record of nineteen.

England Football Factbook: Cris Freddi
Scottish Football Association
Scotland - The Complete International Record: Richard Keir
London Hearts
original newspaper reports
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
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CG