Scotland Women v England Women (1972) was the first ever official international women's football match to be played in Great Britain. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England.[1] The match took place on 18 November 1972 at Ravenscraig Stadium in Greenock, Scotland. England won the game 3–2,[2] almost exactly a hundred years after the first men's international between the two nations.[3] It was the second international women's match to be granted official status by FIFA, after a meeting between France and Netherlands in April 1971.[4]
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| Date | 18 November 1972 | ||||||
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| Venue | Ravenscraig Stadium, Greenock | ||||||
| Referee | Mr. J. Clelland (Scotland) | ||||||
| Weather | Snow | ||||||
Background
editRepresentative women's fixtures between teams from Scotland and England had taken place much earlier. In May 1881 a touring English team played two fixtures against local opposition in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The second game, before 5,000 spectators at Shawfield Stadium, resulted in a riot. In March 1918 Celtic Park hosted a match between female teams of munitions workers. Vickers-Armstrongs from Barrow, beat William Beardmore and Company from Glasgow 4–0, with proceeds donated to hospitals caring for wounded soldiers from World War I. A return fixture in Barrow three weeks later finished 2–2, in front of 5,000 fans.[5] In 1920 Dick, Kerr's Ladies beat a Scottish XI 22–0. A return fixture at Celtic Park the following year finished 9–0 to the English team, watched by a crowd of 6,000. Dick, Kerr's then undertook a tour of Scotland; playing in Edinburgh, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dumfries to an aggregate crowd of 70,000.[6] The SFA was resisting pressure from UEFA to take over the administration of women's football. In 1971 the European member associations had voted 39–1 in favour of UEFA's motion that they take control of women's football, with Scotland voting against.[7] In Scotland football was traditionally seen as a working class, male preserve. A 1921 ban on women's football was not lifted until 1974 and it was not until 1998 that the SFA assumed ultimate responsibility for Scottish women's football.[8]
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 England train at Wembley ahead of the match (Daily Mail) |
Teams
editEngland's defensive midfielder was 17-year-old Janet Bagguley of Macclesfield Ladies, described by Wendy Owen as "hard as nails and a ferocious tackler".[9] Team captain Sheila Parker (née Porter) was a 24-year-old centre half.
Background
editWendy Owen reported that the hotel in Gourock where England stayed required its female guests to wear skirts at all times: "this didn't go down too well with the players, most of whom, like me, were never out of trousers. I didn't even possess a dress or skirt and had to go out and buy one before I joined the tour."[10]
Venue
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The match was staged in Greenock at Ravenscraig Stadium, primarily an athletics facility, because a Scottish Football Association (SFA) resolution dating from the 1920s was still in place. This banned women footballers from SFA-affiliated grounds. For the same reason the referee and linesmen were sourced from the Scottish Football Referees Association instead of via the SFA.[11] The English FA had rescinded their own similar ban in January 1970.[12]
The match
editWendy Owen was "bitterly disappointed" to be named amongst the substitutes and watched the game from underneath a blanket on the substitute's bench. The match was played in icy conditions which gave way to heavy snow during the second half. Sylvia Gore recalled that: "There was only one other game played in Scotland that day – a men's game – because the conditions were so bad." A "close and exciting" game saw Scotland leading 2–1 at half time but England recovering to win 3–2. Scotland took the lead with a goal from Mary Carr. Rose Reilly then scored direct from a corner to put Scotland 2–0 ahead.[13] During the first half Gore made history by scoring England's first ever goal in an official international:[14]
I picked up the ball in my own area and ran 40 yards. I thought I would slip over but I stayed on my feet and side-footed the ball past the keeper.
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| Action from the match (The Scotsman) |
As conditions deteriorated in the second half, England scored twice more without reply. Wendy Owen reported that Gore scored again and Pat Davies got one,[15] while Sue Lopez credited Davies with both England's second half goals.[16] The English and Scottish FAs report England's goals came from Gore, Lynda Hale, and Jeannie Allot.[17][18]
Match details
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      Scotland
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 England
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Player of the Match: Assistant referees:
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Subsequent matches
editEngland has competed against Scotland most notably since 1972 in matches in 2019 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2017.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Record
editThe full record between the two countries is as follows:
| Competition | Played | Results | Goals | |||
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| Scotland | England | Draw | Scotland | England | ||
| Friendly | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 43 |
| British Home Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| UEFA Championship qualifiers | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| Algarve Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Cyprus Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 22 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 71 |
References
edit- ^ "'She hitchhiked to play in first women's international'". BBC Sport.
- ^ "England Statistics". The Football Association. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ^ Football Nation: Sixty Years of the Beautiful Game. bloomsbury. August 2010. p. 126. ISBN 9781408801260. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "First ladies pave the way". FIFA. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Didcock, Barry (4 March 2012). "The women pioneers who fell in love with the beautiful game". The Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ McCuaig, Margo. "A Brief History of Women's Football". Scottish Football Museum. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- ^ Lopez 1997, p. 59
- ^ MacBeth, Jessica (Spring 2008). "Attitudes towards women's football in Scottish society" (PDF). Scottish Affairs. 63 (First Serie (63): 89–119. doi:10.3366/scot.2008.0020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Owen 2005, p. 47
- ^ Owen 2005, p. 48
- ^ Caudwell 2007, p. 17
- ^ Owen 2005, p. 19
- ^ Frith, Wilf (18 November 2012). "40 years ago today: Scotland 2-3 England". She Kicks. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Roberts, Gareth (Winter 2005). "Sylvia Gore" (PDF). Knowsley.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
- ^ Owen 2005, p. 50
- ^ Lopez 1997, p. 93
- ^ Association, The Football. "'It's brilliant the England Women's players of today still remember the 1972 team'". www.englandfootball.com. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "The first Women's International". 150 years of Scottish Football. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ East, Jody. "The first 'official' England Women's football match". Brighton & Hove Museums. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "England beat Scotland at Women's World Cup". BBC Sport.
- ^ "England thrash Scotland in Euros opener". BBC Sport.
- ^ "England 6-0 Scotland: UEFA Women's Euro 2017". www.thefa.com. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- ^ "Scotland 4-4 England | Cyprus Cup | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk.
- ^ "Scotland women draw with England in Cyprus Cup". www.scotsman.com. 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Women's football: Scotland 0-3 England". the Guardian. 10 March 2009.
- ^ Leighton, Tony (4 March 2011). "England 0-2 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
Bibliography
edit- Caudwell, Jayne (2007). "Women's Football in Scotland: An Historical Overview". In Magee, Jonathan; Caudwell, Jayne; Liston, Katie; Scraton, Sheila (eds.). Women, Football and Europe: Histories, Equity and Experiences. Vol. 1. Mayer and Mayer. ISBN 978-1841262253.
- Lopez, Sue (1997). Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football. London, England: Scarlet Press. ISBN 1857270169.
- Owen, Wendy (2005). Kicking Against Tradition: A Career in Women's Football. Tempus. ISBN 0752434276.