The pattern of England doing well at Hampden whilst Scotland do better at Wembley continued in this latest meeting leaving England unbeaten in Scotland since 1937. The new Press box was open for the game and the two teams took the field in very wet conditions.

England made a bright start and quickly forged their way in front with an eighth minute goal from Stan Pearson. Keeping the ball on the ground, good passes from Billy Wright to Nat Lofthouse and on to Jack Rowley down the left ended with the winger centering low into the middle. Redpath's deflection caused the ball to fly upwards and when it came down, Pearson met it on the full to crash home a superb rising shot with his left foot.  It was a goal typical of the Manchester United player and one that will be long remembered, as well as giving him great confidence.

Despite the overall superiority of the England team Scotland were able to create three clear chances which should have been taken in the first half. On ten minutes Reilly missed Liddell's header after it landed at his feet, then ten minutes later the roles were reversed  when Liddell missed a golden opportunity after Reilly had set him up with a backheeled pass. He could only shoot straight at Gil Merrick when it seemed he must score. Finally, Liddell again missed the target with a diving header from point-blank range after Scoular had lobbed the ball in from the left.

But don't get the impression that Scotland had it all their own way. Far from it as Tom Finney and Ivor Broadis combined magnificently to carve gaping holes in the home defence. Only the finishing let them down , although with a minute left of the first half Pearson confirmed his value to the side with his second goal. He pounced on a terrible mix-up between Redpath and Woodburn to shoot just inside Brown's left-hand post.

Scotland began to rue their missed chances as England turned on the style after the break. Broadis and Finney, twice, should have scored and Rowley was very unlucky to see his ferocious shot rebound from a post. Scoular worked overtime during this spell to repel the eager English raiders and towards the end he inspired more passion from his teammates. The improvement culminated in a goal after 75 minutes.

McMillan put pressure on a hesitant Alf Ramsey and was able to centre for Reilly to score Scotland's first home goal against the Auld Enemy since the war. The crowd then tried to lift Scotland for the last quarter of an hour but England held firm, survived two corners in the last minute and deservedly clinched victory.

Tom Garrett made an impressive debut whilst Wright, Dickinson, Broadis and Finney were outstanding for England.
   

Two neatly taken goals by Stan Pearson stretched England's unbeaten run in full internationals at Hampden Park to fifteen years. His first after eight minutes was a superb hooked shot, and his second just before half-time followed a mix-up in Scotland's defence. The Scots screamed that they were robbed of a penalty when Gil Merrick pulled down Lawrie Reilly, and the 134,504 crowd roared with rage when the referee waved play on. Reilly managed to score in the last minute, Scotland's first home goal against England since the war. But it was too late to stop an England victory that gave them a share of the Home Championship with Wales. Blackpool's Tom Garrett made a sound debut at left-back in place of injured Bill Eckersley.
   

Source Notes

TheFA.com
LondonHearts.com
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record (Breedon Books Publishing Company, Derby, U.K., 1993)
Norman Giller, Football Author
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CG