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 219
220 vs. Rest of Europe

Saturday, 22 October 1938
Home International Championship 1938-39 (51st) Match

Wales 4 England 2 [2-2]
 

 Match Summary
Wales Party
England Party

Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff, Glamorgan
Attendance: 55,000 (a new ground record); Receipts: £4,500 (a new ground record); Kick-off: 3.15pm GMT

Wales - Dai Astley (ran onto a L.Jones centre and shot 4, set up by Cumner 65), Idris Hopkins (headed in from a Whatley free-kick 33), Bryn Jones (dribbled through and placed his shot 63)
England - Tommy Lawton (penalty 27), Stanley Matthews (a run ending with a shot started by Lawton 35)
Results 1930-39

Wales won the toss, England kicked-off.
 

Match Summary

Officials

Wales

Type

England
Referee - William R. Hamilton
 Ireland

Linesmen - not known

   Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
  Possession  

Wales Team
 

Rank:

 No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 13th		 Colours: Made by St. Margaret's - Red shirts with white collars, white shorts, red socks
Capt: Les Jones Selectors: Team selection chosen by Committee, on Monday, 17 October 1938.
Wales Lineup
  John, W. Ronald 27 29 January 1911 G Swansea Town FC 13 21 GA
2 Whatley, William 26 12 October 1912 RB Tottenham Hotspur FC, England 1 0
3 Hughes, William M. 20 6 March 1918 LB Birmingham FC, England 4 0
4 Green, George H. 25 12 November 1912 RH Charlton Athletic FC, England 2 0
5 Jones, Thomas G. 21 12 October 1917 LH Everton FC, England 2 0
6 Richards, David T. 31 31 October 1906 CH Birmingham FC, England 20 0
7 Hopkins, Idris M. 28 11 October 1910 OR Brentford FC, England 10 2
8 Jones, Leslie J. 27 1 July 1911 IR Arsenal FC, England 10 0
9 Astley, David J. 29 11 October 1909 CF Derby County FC, England 11 10
10 Jones, Brynmor 26 14 February 1912 IL Arsenal FC, England 11 4
11 Cumner, R. Horace 20 31 March 1918 OL Arsenal FC, England 1 0

reserves:

 reserves not known

team notes:

 Arsenal FC had not agreed to the release of their up and coming star Horace Cumner. Although they had no objection to the Jones' being called upon, they were surprised by Cumner's inclusion, because of his tender age, believed to be nineteen at the time. They allowed his inclusion in the team a day later.
 
2-3-5 John -
Whatley, Hughes -
Green, T.Jones, Richards -
Hopkins, L.Jones, Astley, B.Jones, Cumner.

Averages:

 Age 25.5 Appearances/Goals 7.7 1.1

 

England Team
 

Rank:

 No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 7th		 Colours: The 1935 home uniform - White collared jerseys, navy blue shorts, black socks topped with two white hoops
Capt: Eddie Hapgood, fifteenth captaincy. Selectors: The fourteen-man FA International Selection Committee, following the inter-league match, on Monday, 17 October 1938.
186th match, W 118 - D 30 - L 38 - F 557 - A 220.
England Lineup
  Woodley, Victor R. 28 26 February 1910 G Chelsea FC 12 19 GA
2 Sproston, Bert 23 22 June 1915 RB Tottenham Hotspur FC 9 0
3 Hapgood, Edris A. 30 24 September 1908 LB Arsenal FC 24 0
4 Willingham, C. Kenneth 25 1 December 1912 RH Huddersfield Town AFC 6 1
5 Young, Alfred 32 4 November 1905 CH Huddersfield Town AFC 9 0
6 Copping, Wilfred 31 17 August 1907 LH Arsenal FC 18 0
7 Matthews, Stanley 23 1 February 1915 OR Stoke City FC 11 7
8 Robinson, John 21 10 August 1917 IR Sheffield Wednesday FC 4 3
9 Lawton, Thomas 19
16 days		 6 October 1919 CF Everton FC 1 1
10 Goulden, Leonard A. 26 9 July 1912 IL West Ham United FC 9 2
11 Boyes, Walter 25 5 January 1913 OL Everton FC 2 0

reserves:

 Don Welsh (Charlton Athletic FC) and Frank Broome (Aston Villa FC)

team notes:

 Tommy Lawton, at 19 years and 16 days, becomes the youngest player to score on his debut, a record held for the past four years by Stanley Matthews (and a record held for another 78 years), and the youngest to score from the penalty spot.
 
2-3-5 Woodley -
Sproston, Hagood -
Willingham, Young, Copping -
Matthews, Robinson, Lawton, Goulden, Boyes.

Averages:

 Age 25.7 Appearances/Goals 9.5 1.1

 

    Match Report
Wales beat England at Cardiff on Saturday by four goals to two, and thoroughly deserved a victory which, although they were playing on their own ground, was nevertheless unexpected. England had won the Championship last year and won it with a team that had proved itself in all departments, but that same team on Saturday showed unexpected weaknesses, and, although at times it played good football, it was nearly always struggling...

...Wales took the lead when the game was only a few minutes old. The ball was worked by Richards, and then some passing between the Joneses left Astley free to run on to the ball and beat Woodley with a shot that went high and wide of his left hand...

After 27 minutes a Welsh defender handled in the penalty area and Lawton placed the shot coolly out of John's reach. Wales, however, went ahead again very soon afterwards. A free-kick was awarded them well outside the penalty area. Whatley took it, lobbed the ball into the goal-mouth. Hopkins and English defenders jumped for it. Woodley came a little too far out, and the ball found itself at the back of the net. England struck back ; a pass from Lawton sent Matthews away, and Matthews, who is always a brave individualist, determined to go on his own. He weaved his way into the centre, but the final shot he sent in with his left foot was half-topped and it looked as though John might have saved it had he been a little quicker in his dive...

...First some clever Welsh passing left B. Jones with a sitting shot and then a run by Cumner and a resulting pass gave Astley time and opportunity to make the score 4-2. - The Times - Monday 24th October, 1938

    ENGLISH F.A. AND NUMBERING OF PLAYERS
TO BE DISCUSSED AT SCARBOROUGH MEETING

   The Council of the Football Association will hold an important meeting at Scarborough next Saturday, when, in addition to the election of the chairman and vice-chairman for the ensuing year, reports of various various committees will be read.
   One of the most interesting items on the agenda concerns the numbering of players. Brig-General W.R.N. [Maddox], the New Zealand F.A. representative, will move that players, other than the goalkeeper, be numbered from 1 to 10 in the following matches:-
   F.A. Cup semi-final and final ties.
   F.A. Charity Shield.
   International trial.
   England team in internationals.
   In view of the controversy over the question of the numbering of players, the discussion is likely to be a lively one. - 20 June 1938.

SCOTLAND DEFIED

   The most important decision taken by the F.A. at the summer meeting at Scarborough was to number players, other than the goalkeeper, in the F.A. Cup final, semi-finals, international matches, international trial, and the F.A. charity shield match. New Zealand put forward the resolution in the person of Brigadier-General W.R.N. Maddox, and the proposal will bring about the numbering of players from 1 to 10.
   The decision to number players means that England players will be numbered in matches against Scotland, even though Scotland may not adopt the procedure for her own players.
   Mr F.W. Rinder, vice-president of the Football Association, and one of the strongest supporters of the numbering scheme, made this clear in an interview. He said: "I can see no logical objection to the idea. The England team will be numbered against Scotland. Objections arise from old-fashioned sentiment, and the present tendency of interchange of positions calls for numbering to assist even the experienced spectator to identify players. I have always been in favour of numbering." - 25 June 1938.

Source Notes

Welsh Football Data Archive
Original newspaper reports
Rothmans Yearbooks
FA Yearbooks 1950-60
Ancestry.com
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CG