1973–74 British Home Championship

The 1973–74 British Home Championship Home Nations football tournament was, like the two championships which preceded it, subject to rescheduled matches due to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Scotland, who should have visited Belfast to play their match against Northern Ireland, instead hosted the game in Glasgow as the previous years solution of matches being played in Liverpool was not taken up. Bereft of home advantage, the Irish struggled to contain their opponents, although they did begin well with a narrow win over the Scots. In their first matches, England enjoyed their home advantage to claim victories over the Welsh and Irish while the Welsh crashed to defeat against England and Scotland. With the confusing schedule, by the final match England seemed to be favourites, only needing a draw with the Scots in Glasgow to claim the championship while a loss would still tie the series (goal difference was not at this stage used to calculate position). The Northern Irish, who could still have sneaked the championship themselves, lost a close game to the Welsh, leaving England and Scotland to battle for the final placements, the Scots reaching parity in the competition thanks to a 2–0 victory.

1973–74 British Home Championship
Tournament details
Dates11–18 May 1974
Teams4
Final positions
Champions England (49th title)
 Scotland (39th title)
Tournament statistics
Matches played6
Goals scored9 (1.5 per match)
Top scorer(s)7 players (1 each)

Table

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Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Scotland (C) 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 4
  England (C) 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 4
  Northern Ireland 3 1 0 2 1 2 −1 2
  Wales 3 1 0 2 1 4 −3 2
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Co-champions

Results

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Scotland  0–1  Northern Ireland
  Report Cassidy   39'
Attendance: 53,775
Referee: Iorwerth Jones (Wales)

Wales  0–2  England
Report Bowles   37'
Keegan   56'
Attendance: 25,734
Referee: Redmond McFadden (Northern Ireland)

Scotland  2–0  Wales
Dalglish   23'
Jardine   44' (pen.)
Report
Attendance: 41,969
Referee: Malcolm Wright (Northern Ireland)

England  1–0  Northern Ireland
Weller   73' Report
Attendance: 45,500

Wales  1–0  Northern Ireland
Smallman   26' Report
Attendance: 9,310

Scotland  2–0  England
Pejic   4' (o.g.)
Todd   30' (o.g.)
Report
Attendance: 94,487
Referee: Leo van der Kroft (Netherlands)

References

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  • Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.
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