Scotland Wembley Wins

Tonight Scotland will take on England for the first time in a senior international since 1999. What’s more, it will be the first time the teams have met in New Wembley after the old stadium began its’ renovation in early 2000. Scotland inflicted defeat on their closest neighbours in the last match, which was only the ninth time they had done so on Wembley soil. In association with the Scotland on Sunday Newspaper, we look back at this game and the other eight times the travelling Tartan Army went down to London and humbled the home side. Craig Fowler writes. 

1999 (1-0 Don Hutchison, Euro 2000 play-off second leg)

Paul Scholes had inflicted the damage in a 2-0 first leg win for the Auld Enemy on Hampden soil. Nobody gave the visitors a chance of progressing to the tournament in Belgium and Holland the following summer. However, Scotland had felt hard done by in the first encounter, losing two soft first-half goals in a game they otherwise controlled. They set about proving that on the Wembley turf and Don Hutchinson headed them back into the tie six minutes before the half. Christian Dailly came closest to extending their lead, and their hopes, but his late header was directed straight at David Seaman and England held on.

1981 (1-0 John Robertson pen to finish top of voided competition)

It was the goal that clinched a void tournament for Scotland. Eleven days prior to the Championships, hunger strike protester Bobby Sands had died in prison, sparking a wave of violence across Belfast. As a result the Welsh and English FAs decided against sending their teams to play the scheduled game at Windsor Park. Scotland were the only country to complete all of their fixtures and this was their second win in three games. John Robertson (of Nottingham Forest European Cup fame) won the game from the spot after Steve Archibald had been fouled.

1977 (2-1 Wembley wreckers, fans invade pitch: Gordon McQueen, Kenny Dalglish to clinch Home Internationals)

The game induced the iconic images of hundreds of Scottish supporters invading the pitch at full-time and a handful of them breaking apart the Wembley goalposts. McQueen headed the visitors in front after charging into the penalty area to get on the end of a free-kick from the left. Dalglish them doubled the advantage in the second half; scrambling the ball in at the second attempt from close range. Despite a late Mick Channon penalty Scotland held on to claim their third Home Championships crown in three years. However, it was to be their last.

1967 (3-2 beating the world champions: Denis Law, Bobby Lennox, Jim McCalliog, to clinch HI)

Everybody knows the story. If football was like boxing, then Scotland would have been crowned World Champions on the 15th of April, 1967, having been the first side to defeat the reigning World Cup holders since they’d won the tournament the previous year at Wembley. It was the scene of Jim Baxter’s famous “keepie uppies” as the travelling Scots weren’t content with beating their neighbours, they wanted to embarrass them. Law opened the scoring in the first half before Lennox doubled the lead with 15 minutes remaining. Jack Charlton pulled one back before McCalliog assured the win. Geoff Hurst struck late to earn a score-line that flattered the hosts.

1963 (2-1 Baxter double to clinch HI)

Baxter became a legend for his 67’ antics, but it was this match in which the player himself remembers fondest. At the top of his game, the Rangers midfielder rallied the Scottish team who were reduced to ten men after full-back Eric Caldow had suffered a broken leg in a challenge with England’s Bobby Smith. In the days before substitutes the travelling team were forced to play on with 10 men but had the lead before the half when Baxter robbed possession on the edge of the area and fired the ball high into the net. He then gave his side the advantage required, dispatching a second half penalty after Willie Henderson had been fouled.

1951 (3-2 Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Billy Liddell to clinch HI)

Both nations had won their previous two games, setting up the final game of the tournament as a winner takes all showdown. The travelling Scots were confident having enjoyed a strong record at Wembley over the previous years and they were unfazed when Harold Hassall gave the home side a first half lead. Parity was restored before the break through Johnstone before Reilly put Scotland ahead. Liddell added some insurance and even though England pulled one back through Tom Finney it wasn’t enough.

1949 (3-1 Lawrie Reilly, Jimmy Mason, Billy Steel to clinch HI)

Jackie Milburn’s late goal could not take the shine off a terrific Scotland performance as they took the Home Championships after winning this crunch game in London. Masson gave them the lead before half-time and goals from Steel and Reilly finished off the job. It was Reilly’s first goal for Scotland. In total the Hibernian forward would tally 22 goals for his country, making him the nation’s fourth highest scorer of all-time behind Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law and Hughie Gallacher. Six of those goals came against England, five at Wembley, making him the highest scorer against the Auld Enemy in the 20th century.

1938 (1-0 Tommy Walker to finish second to England in HI)

Only three Scottish based players started the match and two of them played for Hearts. Walker and Andy Anderson were the returning heroes, along with Rangers’ George Brown, and it was the former who grabbed the game’s only goal. Walker repeated the achievement of two years earlier when his late penalty had saved a point, to net the game’s only goal inside the first ten minutes. The strike started a run of scoring in five consecutive internationals for Walker. He finished his career with 21 caps and nine goals, and would have added to both had it not been for the outbreak of World War II.

1928 (5-1 Wembley Wizards: Alex Jackson 3, Alex James 2)

The first ever win at Wembley was thanks to a famous forward line and the team dubbed the “Wembley Wizards”. The diminutive front five was supposed to be a hindrance to the Scotland squad, which had lost its’ other two games at that year’s Championships. Instead the team relied on skill and flair to bamboozle their opponents en route to a famous victory.  Jackson opened the scoring before James doubled the lead before half-time. Poor conditions worsened but Scotland got better, Jackson netting around two and James scoring once more as well. It was only a 89th minute free-kick that allowed England onto the scoresheet.

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