1978–79 British Home Championship

September 2020 1978–79 British Home Championship 19–26 May 1979 4 ENG 52 WAL 6 12 WAL John Toshack (3) 1977–78 1979–80 October 2023 The 1978–79 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. Table main WDL n 2 ENG ENG WAL WAL SCO SCO NIR NIR 2 1 0 5 1 C 1 2 0 4 1 1 0 2 2 6 0 1 2 1 4 #ccffcc C complete 1) points 2) goal difference. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.Note: For the first time, goal difference was used to divide the teams, although it made no difference to the final outcome at this tournament. Results 19 May 1979 WAL 3–0 SCO Report Toshack 28 35 75 Pat Partridge (England) Ninian Park, Cardiff 19 May 1979 NIR 0–2 ENG Report   Watson 11 Coppell 14 Ian Foote (Scotland) Windsor Park, Belfast 22 May 1979 SCO 1–0 NIR Report Graham 76 Clive Thomas (Wales) Hampden Park, Glasgow 23 May 1979 ENG 0–0 WAL Report Malcolm Moffatt (Northern Ireland) Wembley Stadium, London 25 May 1979 NIR 1–1 WAL Report Spence 40 James 63 John Homewood (England) Windsor Park, Belfast 26 May 1979 ENG 3–1 SCO Report Barnes 45 Coppell 63 Keegan 70 Wark 21 António Garrido (Portugal) Wembley Stadium, London References Guy Oliver The Guinness Record of World Soccer 1992 Guinness 0-85112-954-4 External links Full Results and Line-ups 1978–79 Home Championship Category:1978–79 in European men's international football Category:1978–79 in Scottish football Category:1978–79 in Welsh football Category:1978–79 in Northern Ireland association football Category:May 1979 sports events in the United Kingdom