|
Match
Summary |
|
Officials
from Wales |
England |
Type |
Scotland |
Referee
(maroon) - Benjamin Mervyn Griffiths
x (-), Abertillery,
Monmouthshire.
Linesmen -
T.L. Davies (flame flag) and
H. Williams (orange flag)
Teams presented to guest of honour, the Duke of
Gloucester.
"3.0 - Nat
Lofthouse kicks off with a lemon-coloured ball."
|
|
Goal Attempts |
|
|
Attempts on Target |
|
|
Hit Bar/Post |
|
|
Corner Kicks Won |
|
|
Offside Calls Against |
|
|
Fouls Conceded |
|
|
Possession |
|
|
England
Team |
|
Rank: |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 5th |
Colours: |
The 1954 Umbro
home uniform -
White v-necked short-sleeved continental jerseys, blue shorts, red socks
with white tops. |
Capt: |
Billy Wright, fiftieth captaincy |
Manager: |
Walter Winterbottom, 42 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
68th match, W 43 - D 13 - L 12 - F 202 - A 100,
one abandoned. Team chosen by Selection Committee on Sunday, 27 March 1955. |
England
Lineup |
|
Williams, Bert F. |
35 |
31 January 1920 |
G |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC |
20 |
27 GA |
2 |
Meadows, James |
23 |
21 July 1931 |
RB |
Manchester City FC |
1 |
0 |
3 |
Byrne, Roger W. |
25 |
8 September 1929 |
LB |
Manchester United FC |
10 |
0 |
4 |
Armstrong, Kenneth |
30 |
3 June 1924 |
RHB |
Chelsea FC |
1 |
0 |
5 |
Wright, William A. |
31 |
6 February 1924 |
CHB |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC |
65 |
3 |
6 |
Edwards, Duncan |
18 183 days |
1 October 1936 |
LHB |
Manchester United FC |
1 |
0 |
7 |
Matthews, Stanley |
40 |
1 February 1915 |
OR |
Blackpool FC |
42 |
10 |
8 |
Revie, Donald G. |
27 |
10 July 1927 |
IR |
Manchester City FC |
2 |
2 |
9  |
Lofthouse, Nathaniel |
29 |
27 August 1925 |
CF |
Bolton Wanderers FC |
23 |
25 |
10
   |
Wilshaw, Dennis J. |
29 |
11 March 1926 |
IL |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC |
4 |
7 |
the 48th
(eleventh post-war)
hattrick scored
|
11 |
Blunstone, Frank |
20 |
17 October 1934 |
OL |
Chelsea
FC |
2 |
0 |
reserves: |
Joe Shaw (Sheffield United FC),
announced a day later. |
team notes: |
For this match, the FA selectors reverted back to naming the team, and
then a hurried practice session. England played Charlton Athletic on
28 March, beating them 2-1 in the hour-long session,
Portsmouth's
Len Phillips injured his right knee. On the afternoon, the England
party watched the Chelsea-Sunderland League match at Stamford Bridge.
The next day, a second practice session, England beat Arsenal 2-1 at
Highbury with Shaw taking the place of Phillips. On 30 March, England
trained alone at the Bank of England sports ground in Roehampton,
where it was announced that Armstrong had replaced Phillips. Billy Wright extends his record appearance tally. Duncan Edwards, at 18 years and 183 days, is the youngest
England player this century.
It was wrongly reported at the time that he was the youngest
overall, but
James
Prinsep,
Thurston
Rostron and
Clement
Mitchell were younger. Don Revie and Frank Blunstone become
the 69th and 70th players to be re-used by Winterbottom.
Five of this team were named to play Scotland in the postponed B
International in March. Second England hat-trick at Wembley,
and the first to witness four goals. England's
fifth goal, Wilshaw's second, was the 200th under Winterbottom. Tommy Docherty's goal
was the 100th conceded under Winterbottom. |
records: |
England win three matches in a row
at Wembley for the first time since 1930-34, equalling the pre-war
record. |
|
2-3-5 |
Williams - Meadows, Byrne - Armstrong, Wright, Edwards
- Matthews, Revie, Lofthouse, Wilshaw, Blunstone |
Averages: |
Age |
27.9 |
Appearances/Goals |
15.5 |
3.6 |
|
|
Scotland
Team |
|
Rank: |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 16th to 18th |
Colours: |
Made by Umbro -
Navy blue jerseys with white collars, white shorts, blue socks
with red tops. |
Capt: |
Willie Cunningham |
Manager:
Trainer: Alec Dowdell (The Celtic FC) |
The Scottish Football Association Selection Committee, on
Wednesday, 23 March 1955. |
Scotland
Lineup |
|
Martin, Fred |
25 |
13 May 1929 |
G |
Aberdeen FC |
6 |
20 GA |
2 |
Cunningham, William C. |
30 |
22 February 1925 |
RB |
Preston North End FC, England |
8 |
0 |
3 |
Haddock, Harry |
29 |
26 July 1925 |
LB |
Clyde FC |
2 |
0 |
4 |
Docherty, Thomas H. |
26 |
24 April 1928 |
RHB |
Preston North End FC, England |
10 |
1 |
5 |
Davidson, James A. |
29 |
8 November 1925 |
CHB |
Partick Thistle FC |
8 |
1 |
6 |
Cumming, John |
25 |
17 March 1930 |
LHB |
Hearts of Midlothian FC |
2 |
0 |
7 |
Mackenzie, John A. |
29 |
4 September 1925 |
OR |
Partick Thistle FC |
8 |
1 |
8 |
Johnstone, Robert |
25 |
7 September 1929 |
IR |
Manchester City FC, England |
14 |
8 |
9 |
Reilly, Lawrance |
26 |
28 October 1928 |
CF |
Hibernian FC |
26 |
17 |
10 |
McMillan, John L. |
24 |
18 March 1931 |
IL |
Airdrieonians FC |
4 |
2 |
11 |
Ring, Thomas |
24 |
8 August 1930 |
OL |
Clyde FC |
5 |
1 |
reserves: |
Travelling reserve is Doug Cowie (Dundee FC). Full team of reserves are
Frazer (Sunderland AFC); McDonald (Sunderland AFC); Evans (The Celtc FC),
Young (Rangers FC) and Cowie (Dundee FC); Collins (The Celtic FC) and
Walsh (The Celtic FC); Bauld (Hearts of Midlothian FC), Gemmell (St.
Mirren FC) and Billy Liddell (Liverpool FC). |
team notes: |
Scotland beat Brentford 2-0 at Griffin Park in a trial match prior to
the match with England. They were set up in Weybridge, Surrey. This is the first Scotland side against England to not feature any
players from Rangers FC since 1907. Tommy Docherty's free-kick was not only the hundredth goal conceded in
the Winterbottom reign, but also the fifth direct free-kick conceded
by England since Scotland scored the first in 1877. |
|
2-3-5 |
Martin - Cunningham, Haddock - Docherty, Davidson,
Cumming - Mackenzie, Johnstone, Reilly, McMillan, Ring |
Averages: |
Age |
26.5 |
Appearances/Goals |
8.7 |
2.6 |
|
|
Match Report
by Mike Payne |
Not
since 1934 had England managed to Beat Scotland at Wembley and in this,
the 72nd international between the two countries, they finally broke the
hoodoo with a vengeance.
Cunningham won the
toss for Scotland and the teams kicked-off in glorious sunshine with the
full tartan flavour on the terraces. Within seconds though the Scots were
a goal down. Martin, who endured a nightmare throughout, inexplicably
dropped a cross from Frank Blunstone. Don Revie was in there quickly to
get in touch on to Dennis Wilshaw, who rammed in the loose ball.
Duncan Edwards, making an immediate and impressive impact, was at the
heart of England's early play. On seven minutes they increased their lead.
A perfect centre by the incomparable Stanley Matthews was snapped up by
Nat Lofthouse's head and it was 2-0. Matthews, now 40, was superb and his
teasing play gave Haddock a torrid time.
Scotland still worked
hard, though, with Docherty a driving force. They found that when they put
pressure on the England defenders then they too, looked vulnerable. In the
tenth minute good work by Johnstone set up a chance well-taken by Reilly
and it was now 2-1.
The pace of the game was relentless and the
crowd could not look away for a moment for fear of missing something.
England's attacking play was often exhilarating with Matthews going close
and Wilshaw hitting a post. The pressure had to tell and in the 24th
minute, good passing by the forwards was finally rounded off by Revie's
cross-shot finding the net.
Cumming moved across to try to help
Haddock stem the danger from Matthews but three minutes later the winger
carved yet another goal with his superb footwork. This time he pulled the
ball back for Lofthouse to score his second and England's fourth. It was
not all one-way traffic and McMillan, Johnstone and Reilly all showed up
well, but there was no denying England's convincing half-time lead.
In the second half Scotland continued to match their rivals in ball
skills but alas their finishing let them down. This was highlighted when
McKenzie missed a fine chance after 47 minutes. Understandably perhaps,
the game went through a scrappy and lifeless spell for awhile. Docherty
impressed with his energy and tenacity for Scotland as did his counterpart
Edwards for England. At 18 years old, this young colossus looked to have a
tremendous future.
Matthews went close and then further attempts by
Matthews, again, and Lofthouse brought the game back to life. Matthews
then set up another chance for Wilshaw to head number five on seventy
minute. Three minutes later the same pair combined again for Wilshaw to
crash home an unstoppable drive in the far corner, thus completing his
hat-trick. By this time, Scotland were demoralised and with seven minutes
left Wilshaw scored yet again following a Matthews centre.
Docherty
did salvage something for Scotland when he hammered home a free-kick. The
power and accuracy of his kick left Bert Williams helpless, but that goal
in no way devalued from the superiority of a marvellous display from
England.
|
Match Report
by Norman Giller |
Stanley Matthews was the engineer and Dennis
Wilshaw the executioner in this annihilation of the Scots. Wilshaw's four
goals included the first hat-trick by an England player against Scotland.
Duncan Edwards, the human powerhouse from Manchester United, was, at 18
years 183 days, the youngest England player of the 20th century. Chelsea
right-half Ken Armstrong collected his only cap, and later emigrated to
New Zealand for whom he won thirteen caps. This was England's first
victory over Scotland at Wembley since 1934. Wilshaw started his goal rush
in the first minute, and two goals from Nat Lofthouse and one from Don
Revie gave England a commanding 4-1 lead at half-time. Scotland caved in
as Wilshaw snatched three goals in thirteen minutes in the last third of
the match. Tommy Docherty, who ran himself into the ground for the Scots,
got a little reward for all his work when he scored with a late free-kick.
The talk afterwards was of the powerhouse performance from Duncan Edwards,
who looked the complete player in his debut.
|
Match Report
by Glen Isherwood |
England had already beaten both Northern
Ireland and Wales and needed only a point to retain the Championship.
Scotland had failed to beat Northern Ireland at Hampden Park and so needed
to win to claim their first outright Championship since 1951.
They were still unbeaten at Wembley in the
British Championship since 1934.
England
were ahead in the first minute. Blunstone crossed and Martin came out but
Dennis Wilshaw slotted the ball into an empty net. They scored again in
the seventh minute, Nat Lofthouse hitting the target after good work by
Revie and Stan Matthews.
Lawrie Reilly then pulled one back by
scoring in his fourth successive game at Wembley when Wright was
uncharacteristically hesitant. But Don Revie soon scored when Martin
fumbled and before the half hour England had notched their fourth,
Matthew's crossing for Lofthouse to score.
England now eased off a
little but finished with a flourish.
With 20 minutes left a
pinpoint centre from Matthews left Wilshaw with a simple header for the
fifth. The 40-year old Matthews was now destroying the Scottish defence
almost at will. He sent Wilshaw through to complete his hat-trick and then
created another chance yet again for Wilshaw to score.
Tommy Docherty
scored a late consolation goal from long range but England had
emphatically buried their Scottish jinx with their biggest ever victory
over their rivals.
Footballer of the Year Don Revie made his first
Wembley appearance, scoring England's third goal.
|
The
Top Twenty UK Music Chart
by New Musical Express |
On
Friday, 15 November 1952, The New Musical Express published the first ever singles chart in the UK,
comprising the twelve highest selling singles of the week, it increased to
twenty on Friday, 1 October 1954. When England beat Scotland,
Tennessee Ernie Ford's Give Me Your Word
was the best selling single. The chart was published on Friday, 1
April 1955:-
1. |
(=) |
Give Me
Your Word - Tennessee Ernie Ford (Capitol) |
11. |
Under The Bridges Of Paris
- Eartha Kitt (HMV) |
2. |
(=) |
Softly Softly - Ruby Murray (Columbia) |
12. |
(6) |
Let Me Go Lover - Ruby Murray
(Columbia) |
3. |
(12) |
Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom
White - Perez Prado &
His Orchestra (HMV) |
13. |
Under The Bridges of Paris - Dean
Martin (Capitol) |
4. |
(=) |
A Blossom Fell - Nat 'King' Cole
(Capitol) |
14. |
(11) |
The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane
- Dean Martin (Capitol) |
5. |
(7) |
(I'm Always Hearing) Wedding Bells
- Eddie Fisher (HMV) |
15. |
(16) |
Mambo Italiano -
Rosemary Clooney & The Mellomen (Philips) |
6. |
(10) |
If Anyone Finds This I Love You
- Ruby Murray with Anne Warren (Columbia) |
(14) |
Let Me Go Lover
- Teresa Brewer with The Lancers (Vogue
Coral) |
7. |
(5) |
Mobile - Ray Burns
(Columbia) |
(13) |
Beyond The Stars
- David Whitfield With Mantovani & His Orchestra (Decca) |
8. |
(3) |
Let Me Go Lover - Dean
Martin (Capitol) |
18. |
(9) |
A Blossom Fell -
Dickie Valentine (Decca) |
9. |
(20) |
Prize Of Gold
- Joan Regan (Decca) |
19. |
(15) |
A Blossom Fell -
Ronnie Hilton (HMV) |
10. |
(8) |
Tomorrow - Johnny Brandon &
The Phantoms (Polygon) |
20. |
No More -
McGuire Sisters (Vogue
Coral) |
♪Most weeks at number one when
England played: Doris
Day and
Frankie Laine five, Guy Mitchell two, Vera Lynn, Al Martino, Lita Roza,
Stargazers, Tennessee Ernie Ford and
David Whitfield one each |
|
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)
Glen Isherwood's Wembley: The Complete Record (SportsBooks Ltd,
2006)
Norman Giller, Football Author officialcharts.com singles chart
____________________
CG
|