1971 British Home International Championships Review

The 1971 British Home Championship was an international football competition between the British Home Nations. The tournament was low-scoring affair, reflecting trends in world football at the time, which relied on heavy defence. England won the tournament in their final match by beating Scotland following an earlier victory over Northern Ireland and a draw with the Welsh. The England versus Scotland match saw more goals than the rest of the tournament put together, but Ireland did manage to gain a rare second-place position with 1–0 wins over disappointing Welsh and Scottish sides, whose own match for last place was a goalless draw. There was huge controversy in the first game between Northern Ireland and England. Northern Ireland initially thought that George Best's goal should have been allowed to stand as Gordon Banks attempted to clear the ball. Then, with 10 minutes remaining, Francis Lee charged down the ball with what looked to be his arms but play was allowed to continue and Allan Clarke scored the winning goal as England won 1-0. This would prove to be decisive as England would eventually top the table at the expense of Northern Ireland who had had a great campaign throughout. #england #scotland #georgebest #alframsey #wales #northernireland