Ahead of England's long-awaited return to Glasgow to face the Auld Enemy, Paul Fraser looks back on five of the best meetings with Scotland to be staged north of the border
WHEN England face Scotland tonight at Celtic Park the oldest rivalry in international football will be renewed. It was in November 1872, St Andrew’s Day, when the two countries first went head-to-head and the game at Partick finished goalless in front of just 4,000 fans.
That was the only goalless draw between the two for 98 years. There have been 112 meetings since, with records remaining close. England have won 46 to Scotland’s 41, with 24 draws.
After that the game became a regular fixture on the calendar, annually taking place but up until last year’s meeting at Wembley there had not been a match between the two since the play-off qualifier for Euro 2000.
A look through the archives bring back memories of some memorable encounters, with Paul Gascoigne’s brilliance during a victory at Euro ’96 up there with the finest moments from an English point of view.
While Scotland fans never forget the historic 3-2 Euro qualifier victory at Wembley in 1967 when hordes of supporters spilled on to the pitch beneath the Twin Towers, wrecking the turf by ripping it up to take home a souvenir after beating the reigning world champions.
The meetings at Wembley tend to be the fixtures everyone recalls more than most, but here are some of the best duels to have taken place in Scotland, starting with the last time they two met at the home of Celtic.
Scotland 0 England 1
April 9, 1904
THE last Englishman to score a winning goal at Celtic Park to defeat Scotland was Steve Bloomer more than a century ago. The British Home Championships win, which helped his country to finish top of the table, was secured courtesy of his solitary goal before Scotland moved on to Hampden Park.
Bloomer, a former Derby County and Middlesbrough man, scored a staggering 28 goals in just 23 games for his country and his final cap came in the 1-1 draw with Scotland in Newcastle – and he scored.
Scotland: Aitken, Robertson, Templeton, Brown, Orr, Raisbeck, McBride, Walker, Jackson, Watson, Niblo.
England: Baddeley, Crompton, Leake, Burgess, Wolstenholme, Wilkinson, Blackburn, Rutherford, Bloomer, Woodward, Harris.
Scotland 2 England 0
April 14, 1962
DELIGHT: Scotland's Jim Baxter being hugged by delighted fans who invaded the pitch at Wembley following the 3-2 victory over England
SCOTLAND had failed to win any of their previous eight encounters against England at Hampden Park, so there was relief and satisfaction all round when Davie Wilson and Eric Caldow scored to secure the points to end the British Home Championship in style. Wilson and Cadlow’s goals earned a first win at home since 1937 to send the fans home happy.
Scotland: Brown, Hamilton, Baxter, Scott, Law, St John, White, McNeill, Crerard, Wilson, Caldow.
England: Springett, Armfield, Wilson, Swan, Anderson, Flowers, Charlton, Douglas, Smith, Greaves, Haynes.
Scotland 0 England 5
February 14, 1973
AFTER being invited up to Glasgow as part of centenary celebrations for the Scottish Football Association, the party could not really have gone any worse for the hosts and new manager Willie Ormond.
England delivered a Valentine’s Day massacre at Hampden Park to equal the 5-0 drubbing recorded in 1888. It was Bobby Moore’s 100th cap and he enjoyed the outing far more than the Scots. Peter Lorimer got things rolling for England when he scored in to his own net beyond Bobby Clark. Allan Clarke, Mick Channon , Martin Chivers and a second for Clarke piled on the misery for a crowd of just under 50,000.
Scotland: Clark, Forsyth, Colquhoun, Buchan, Donachie, Morgan (Stein), Bremner, Dalglish, Macari, Lorimer, Graham.
England: Shilton, Moore, Storey, Hughes, Madeley, Bell, Peters, Ball, Channon, Chivers, Clarke.
Scotland 1 England 0
May 25, 1985
IN what was the first year of the Rous Cup following the demise of the British Home Championship, Scotland finished ahead of England, Brazil, Colombia and Chile and were helped by this 1-0 win at Hampden.
In a game of very few chances it was Richard Gough’s header in the 69th minute which left Bobby Robson’s England defeated and deflated. More than 66,000 fans witnessed an occasion which helped earn Gough legendary status in his homeland.
Scotland: Leighton, Malpas, McLeish, Miller, Gough, Aitken, Strachan (Macleod), Bett, Souness, Archibald, Speedie.
England: Shilton, Anderson, Fenwick, Sansom, Butcher, Robson, Hoddle (Lineker), Wilkins, Barnes (Waddle), Francis, Hateley.
November 13, 1999
Scotland 0 England 2
THE last meeting between the two to be staged in Scotland was 15 years ago. It was the first leg of a European Championships qualifier double header and Paul Scholes gave Kevin Keegan’s side the perfect advantage.
Scholes, the Manchester United midfielder, scored twice in the first half to put England in the driving seat. Four days later Don Hutchison’s header gave Scotland hope at Wembley, but Keegan’s players celebrated at the final whistle after sealing a place at Euro 2000.
Scotland: Sullivan, Weir, Dailly, Hendry, Ritchie, Ferguson, Burley, Collins, Hutchison, Dodds, Gallacher (Burchill).
England: Seaman, Campbell, Adams, Keown, Neville, Ince, Scholes, Redknapp, Beckham, Owen (Cole), Shearer.
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