1979 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1979 British Home Championship
was a British Home Nations
competition, won by the English
football
side and notable for seeing marked increases in hooliganism
and falling attendance which would result in its cancellation in 1984. The English started well, beating Northern Ireland
to match the heavy Welsh
victory over Scotland
on the same day, which featured a hat trick
by John Toshack
. Scotland recovered by beating the Irish in their next match while England and Wales played out a goalless draw, leaving three sides theoretically capable of winning the Championship in the final round. Wales could only manage a draw with the Irish and so in the deciding match between England and Scotland, a 1–1 half time score gave the Scots some hope but a strong second half performance from England was rewarded with a deserved 3–1 win. This result gave England the Championship, with Wales in second place. The tournament also saw the introduction of goal difference
to separate teams, although it had no effect on the eventual outcome.
The points system worked as follows:
For the first time, goal difference
was used to divide the teams, although it made no difference to the final outcome at this tournament.
----
----
----
----
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
was a British Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
competition, won by the English
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
side and notable for seeing marked increases in hooliganism
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
and falling attendance which would result in its cancellation in 1984. The English started well, beating Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
to match the heavy Welsh
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
victory over Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
on the same day, which featured a hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
by John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
. Scotland recovered by beating the Irish in their next match while England and Wales played out a goalless draw, leaving three sides theoretically capable of winning the Championship in the final round. Wales could only manage a draw with the Irish and so in the deciding match between England and Scotland, a 1–1 half time score gave the Scots some hope but a strong second half performance from England was rewarded with a deserved 3–1 win. This result gave England the Championship, with Wales in second place. The tournament also saw the introduction of goal difference
Goal difference
In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
to separate teams, although it had no effect on the eventual outcome.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | |
| 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
For the first time, goal difference
Goal difference
In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
was used to divide the teams, although it made no difference to the final outcome at this tournament.
Results
--------
----
----
----