1976–77 British Home Championship
The 1976-77 British Home Championship exemplified a new era in Home Nations football during its final game, when jubilant Scottish fans invaded the pitch at Wembley Stadium following their team's surprise victory. Unlike a similar occasion in the 1967 British Home Championship, family football had given way to hooliganism and extensive damage was done to the stadium and riots in London throughout the night followed the occasion. It was events like this which eventually led to the tournament's cancellation in 1984.
The tournament itself was an open affair, with an opening victory for England cancelled out by a Scottish win over Northern Ireland and English defeat to Wales. The Welsh stood a good chance of winning the tournament outright for the first time since 1937, but could not beat the Irish in their final match, and ended up in a rare second-place position. The Scots and English thus faced each other in the final match knowing the winner would take the trophy, the Scots achieving a victory on England's home ground to take the trophy for the second year in a row and demonstrate their dominance in British football. The match was followed by a mass pitch invasion by Scottish supporters.
Table
Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
Wales | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
England | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
Northern Ireland | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
1 June 1977 |
Scotland | 3 – 0 | Northern Ireland |
---|---|---|
Kenny Dalglish 37', 79', Gordon McQueen 61' | Report (Page 18) |
4 June 1977 |
England | 1 – 2 | Scotland |
---|---|---|
Mick Channon 87' (pen.) | Report (Page 16) | Gordon McQueen 42', Kenny Dalglish 60' |
References
- Guy Oliver (1992). The Guinness Record of World Soccer. Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-954-4.