1979–80 British Home Championship

The 1979–80 British Home Championship saw only the second undisputed victory for Northern Ireland in the British Home Nations international football tournament in 96 years of its existence. It was the first time since 1970 that Scotland agreed to travel to Northern Ireland, having refused to play there since 1972.

1979–80 British Home Championship

Tournament details
Dates	16–24 May 1980
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Northern Ireland (7th title)
Runners-up	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	12 (2 per match)
Top scorer(s)	10 players (1 goal each)
← 1978–79 1980–81 →

The opening matches provided two great shocks for the long-established favourites of England and Scotland, with a narrow Northern Irish home victory over the Scots and a Welsh 4–1 thrashing of the English, putting the underdogs in pole position going into their remaining rounds. Scotland recovered slightly with a narrow victory over the Welsh, but England could only manage a draw with the Northern Irish, who were in the best position to claim undisputed first place for 66 years. In the final matches, England salvaged pride and points with a win over the Scots taking them to second place, but the Northern Irish claimed the trophy by defeating Wales in Cardiff, celebrating their centenary with a rare triumph.

Mural in Belfast celebrating the three outright wins of the British Home Championship by Ireland and Northern Ireland, including in 1980.

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Northern Ireland (C)	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2	5
England	3	1	1	1	4	5	−1	3
Wales	3	1	0	2	4	3	+1	2
Scotland	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2	2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points 2) goal difference. The points system worked as follows: 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
(C) Champions

Results

Northern Ireland	1–0	Scotland
Hamilton 36'	Report

16 May 1980

Windsor Park, Belfast

Referee: Clive Thomas (Wales)

---

Wales	4–1	England
Thomas 19' Walsh 30' James 60' Thompson 66' (o.g.)		Mariner 16'

17 May 1980

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Referee: Ian Foote (Scotland)

---

England	1–1	Northern Ireland
Brotherston 81' (o.g.)		Cochrane 83'

20 May 1980

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee: Gwyn Owen (Wales)

---

Scotland	1–0	Wales
Miller 26'

21 May 1980

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee: Hugh Wilson (Northern Ireland)

---

Wales	0–1	Northern Ireland
		Brotherston 22'

23 May 1980

Ninian Park, Cardiff

Referee: John Hunting (England)

---

Scotland	0–2	England
		Brooking 8' Coppell 75'

24 May 1980

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee: António Garrido (Portugal)

References

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

External links

• Full Results and Line-ups