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Éireann

 


Ibrox Disaster

76 vs. Scotland
77
78 vs. Wales

Saturday, 14 February 1903
originally scheduled for 14 March 1903
Home International Championship 1902-03 (20th) Match

England 4 Ireland 0 [1-0]
 

Molineux, Waterloo Road North, St.Peter's, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
Attendance: 24,240;
receipts £597 (entrance fee a sixpenny); Kick-off tbc

Match Summary
England Party

Ireland Party
Team Records

England - Vivian Woodward ('with a neat shot from the left foot after receiving from Lockett' 19, 'from a scrimmage' 52), Jack Sharp ('added a third after Scott had cleared from Woodward' 63), Harry Davis ('scored' 83).
Results 1901-14

England won the toss, Ireland kicked-off.
Match delayed temporarily after twenty minutes after a dog ran onto the field.

 

Match Summary

 

Officials

England

Type

Ireland

Referee - William Nunnerley
Wales

Linesmen - not known and Joseph McBride, Ireland

The FA changed the date of this match to 14 February at the same FA meeting that decided the England team to meet Scotland on Monday, 24 March 1902.

  Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
The 1902 International Football Association Board meeting:
New pitch with new laws.
Dutch FA request an International Body.
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

England Team

 

Rank:

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 1st
Colours: White collared jerseys and navy blue shorts
Capt: Howard Spencer, first captaincy Selectors: The seven-man FA International Selection Committee, on Monday, 26 January 1903, following the North vs. South trial match at Tottenham.
46th match, W 34 - D 8 - L 4 - F 173 - A 41.
England Lineup
  Baddeley, Thomas 28 30 October 1874 G Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 1 0 GA
  Spencer, Howard 27 23 August 1875 RB Aston Villa FC 4 0
  Molyneux, George 27 24 July 1875 LB Southampton FC 2 0
  Johnson, W. Harrison 27 22 November 1875 RH Sheffield United FC 4 0
  Holford, Thomas 24 22 February 1878 CH Stoke FC 1 0
  Hadley, Harry 25 26 October 1877 LH West Bromwich Albion FC 1 0
Davis, Harry 23
98 days
8 November 1879 OR The Wednesday FC 1 1
Sharp, John 24 15 February 1878 IR Everton FC 1 1
Woodward, Vivian J. 23
256 days
3 June 1879 CF Tottenham Hotspur FC 1 2
the fiftieth brace scored
  Settle, James 27 September 1875 IL Everton FC 6 6
  Lockett, Arthur 25 11 March 1877 OL Stoke FC 1 0

reserves:

Kelly Houlker (Portsmouth FC) was a late reserve, called up the day before.

team notes:

Aston Villa FC's Billy Garraty withdrew from the original line-up, his place went to Jack Sharp.
Jack Sharp became the fiftieth player to score on his England debut.
 
2-3-5 Baddeley -
Spencer, Molyneux -
Johnson, Holford, Hadley -
Davis, Sharp, Woodward, Settle, Lockett,

Averages:

Age 25.4 Appearances/Goals 2.1 0.5

 

Ireland Team

 

Rank:

No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 10th
Colours: Green jerseys and white shorts
According to the match card
Capt: Archie Goodall Selectors: Team chosen by Committee, on Saturday, 17 January 1903 in Dublin;
Ireland Lineup
  Scott, William E. 20 17 May 1882 G Linfield FAC 1 4 GA
  McCracken, William R. 20 29 January 1883 RB Distillery FC 4 0
  McMillan, T. George nk not known LB Distillery FC 1 0
  Darling, John 25 30 October 1877 RH Linfield FAC 8 0
  Milne, Robert George 32 1 October 1870
in Inverarity, Scotland
CH Linfield FAC 20 2
  Goodall, Archibald L. 38 19 June 1864 LH Derby County FC, England 7 1
  Campbell, James C. 27 5 September 1875 OR Cliftonville FAC 13 1
  Maxwell, James nk not known IR Linfield FAC 2 0
  Sheridan, James 20 15 May 1882 CF Everton FC, England 1 0
  Sloan, Howard A. 20 25 August 1882 IL Bohemians 1 0
  Kirwan, John H. 25 9 February 1878 OL Tottenham Hotspur FC, England 4 0

reserves:

reserves not known

team notes:

Woolwich Arsenal's Tommy Shanks was in the original named line-up, his place going to Sloan.
 
2-3-5 Scott -
McCracken, McMillan -
Darling, Milne, Goodall -
Campbell, Maxwell, Sheridan, Sloan, Kirwan.

Averages:

Age 25.2 Appearances/Goals 5.7 0.4

 

    Match Report

For the first few minutes of their match with England at Wolverhampton, on Saturday, the Irishmen played so well that it looked as if the Englishmen might experience some difficulty in winning ; but when once they had settled down very little doubt could be felt about the result, and in the end England won by four goals to none...

...nearly twenty minutes elapsed before England scored, but then Woodward made amends, passing smartly out to Lockett, getting up to take that player's centre and putting the ball between the posts with a skilful left-foot kick...

...Woodward soon scored a second goal for England, Sharp put on a third, getting on the ball as Scott fisted it out from Woodward, and a few minutes before the finish Davis cleverly kicked a fourth...

The match took place under favourable conditions, the Wolverhampton ground being well protected from the wind, and a company of nearly 17,000 people assembled to witness the play. - The Times - Monday 16th February, 1903

    Football League

 

Football League Division One
14 February 1903
Team P Pts
West Bromwich Albion 25 34
The Wednesday 26 32
Sunderland 24 31
Derby County 25 30
Stoke 25 29
Sheffield United 25 28
Nottingham Forest 26 27
Notts County 25 27
Aston Villa 24 25
Wolverhampton Wanderers 26 25
Liverpool 23 24
Bury 24 24
Everton 25 24
Middlesbrough 24 21
Newcastle United 22 19
Blackburn Rovers 26 19
Grimsby Town 25 16
Bolton Wanderers 26 11

 

Division One matches played on 14 February 1903:

BOLTON WANDERERS 4-1 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Marsh 2, White, Bull (Woolridge)
4,000 (Burnden Park, Bolton)

Wolves were without Tom Baddeley, who kept a clean sheet on his international debut against Ireland on his home ground.

DERBY COUNTY 1-0 BLACKBURN ROVERS
Bloomer pen.
8,000 (Baseball Ground, Derby)

Derby were without Archie Goodall, who was playing for Ireland against England at Wolverhampton.

EVERTON 0-1 ASTON VILLA
(Bache)
20,000 (Goodison Park, Liverpool)

Everton were without Settle, and Sharp (who scored on his debut), who were playing against Ireland at Wolverhampton, and Sheridan, who was making his debut for Ireland, whilst Villa were without Howard Spencer, who was also playing for England.

MIDDLESBROUGH 1-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED
Cassidy
20,000 (Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough)

NOTTS COUNTY 1-2 LIVERPOOL
Bull (Goddard 2)
8,000 (Trent Bridge, Nottingham)

STOKE 3-2 NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Capes, Watkins, Higginson (nk)
6,000 (
victoria Ground, Stoke)

Stoke were without Holford and Lockett, both of whom were making their only international appearances, for England against Ireland at Wolverhampton.

SUNDERLAND 3-1 BURY
McAllister 2, Hewitt (Wood)
13,000 (Roker Park, Sunderland)

THE WEDNESDAY 1-1 GRIMSBY TOWN
9,000 (Owlerton Stadium, Sheffield)

Wednesday were without Harry Davis, who scored for England against Ireland at Wolverhampton.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 3-3 SHEFFIELD UNITED
Stevenson, Dorsett, Elmore (Hedley, Needham, Lipsham)
17,122 (The Hawthorns, West Bromwich)

West Brom were without Harry Hadley (making his only international appearance) and Sheffield United were without Harry Johnson, both of whom were playing for England against Ireland at Wolverhampton.

Newly-promoted West Brom were setting the pace, but the pressure was too much and they ended up in seventh place.

Football League Division Two
14 February 1903
Team P Pts
Manchester City 25 39
Small Heath 23 35
Woolwich Arsenal 24 34
Bristol City 24 31
Chesterfield Town 23 28
Preston North End 22 23
Manchester United 21 23
Lincoln City 23 22
Blackpool 23 22
Burslem Port Vale 23 22
Leicester Fosse 22 21
Burton United 22 21
Glossop 22 19
Barnsley 21 18
Doncaster Rovers 23 16
Burnley 24 14
Gainsborough Trinity 20 12
Stockport County 23 8

 

Division Two matches played on 14 February 1903:

BLACKPOOL 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
Cookson, Heywood
3,000 (Bloomfield Road, Blackpool)

BURNLEY 1-1 PRESTON NORTH END
Ross pen. (nk)
1,000 (Turf Moor, Burnley)

CHESTERFIELD TOWN 4-1 STOCKPORT COUNTY
Newton 2, Munday, Tomlinson (Hosie)
4,000 (Recreation Ground, Chesterfield)

DONCASTER ROVERS 0-0 BRISTOL CITY
2,500 (Intake Ground, Doncaster)

LEICESTER FOSSE 1-2 BARNSLEY
Brown (nk)
3,000 (Filbert Street, Leicester)

LINCOLN CITY 4-0 BURTON UNITED
1,500 (Sincil Bank, Lincoln)

MANCHESTER CITY 7-1 BURSLEM PORT VALE
Gillespie, McOustra pen., Bannister 2, Meredith 2, Turnbull (Hartshorne)
12,000 (Hyde Road, Manchester)

SMALL HEATH 1-0 GAINSBOROUGH TRINITY
McRoberts
5,000 (Coventry Road, Birmingham)

WOOLWICH ARSENAL 0-0 GLOSSOP
10,000 (Manor Ground, London)

 

Manchester City maintained their hundred-per-cent home record, as did Small Heath, who had won thirteen to City's twelve and completed the season without dropping a point at home. Both were set for an immediate return to the First Division that they had been relegated from the previous year.

IN OTHER NEWS...

It was on 13 February 1903 that the blockade of Venezuelan ports by the British, German and Italian navies came to an end with the signing of an agreement whereby the South American country would begin to repay some of its foreign debts.

Source Notes

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
Original Newspaper Reports
TheFA.com
Rothman's Yearbooks
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
Ancestry.com

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CG